The Staircase Enigma
by luckycarrot
Summary: Luka has no particular desire to get tangled up in mysteries. It's her last year of school, she has other things to worry about. But the staircase soaked in crimson has come for her.
1. Rosetta Junction

Chapter 1 - Rosetta Junction

* * *

"Have you heard the rumor?"

Luka's eyes left the pages of her notebook as she reluctantly focused her attention on the girl sitting across the table from her. It wasn't too much of a surprise to see that Miki wasn't even holding a pen in her hand. The girl was a great help in organizing school events and getting students pumped up for new activities, but she had little discipline when it came to actual schoolwork.

Miki grinned, unaffected by Luka's reproachful stare. "It's pretty silly, I guess. But everyone is talking about it and I can't help but wonder…I mean, it couldn't hurt to give it a try. What do you think?"

"I think you're babbling."

"Got me there!" Miki laughed. "But you know what I'm talking about, right?"

Luka let out a small sigh. Of course she knew. Her classroom was abuzz with the stupid little tale. Even classmates she usually considered sensible were intrigued by what sounded like a rejected idea for a girlie cartoon. "Go to the abandoned clinic in Rosetta Street and stand at the top of the red staircase at dusk. You'll see your soulmate at the bottom of the stars when the light stops touching the old fountain," she said in the driest, less enthusiastic tone she could muster, hoping Miki would take a hint and go back to calculus.

No such luck. Miki rested her face on her hands and stared into space with a starry-eyed look. "Can you imagine! Yukari told me a couple of girls went there and saw shadows moving in the yard."

"And then, the mysterious shadows asked them if they had any change to spare, or maybe a cigarette."

"Oh, Luka!" Miki laughed again, undeterred. Luka tended to appreciate her luminous personality, but this time it was starting to tick her off. Mainly because she knew what was coming next. "Can we go after we are done with this? Just for a quick look?"

And there it was. Luka had been expecting that question ever since the story started circulating the school like a virus. Her classmates knew better than to rope her into absurdities like this, but there was no stopping Miki. However, Luka wasn't going to give in without trying to dissuade the younger girl. "Forget it, it's private property."

"I know it's trespassing! But we just go in and out, nobody is going to notice anything if we're quick about it."

"Yes, I'm sure getting past that tall fence and into a boarded-up building is that easy."

"Yukari told me what to do."

Of course she did.

"Come on, please?"

"Even if I felt like breaking the law, that building has been abandoned for years. I doubt it's safe."

"It's not that bad! I told you, some people went there, nothing happened to them!"

Luka's gaze wandered, studying the room they were in while Miki continued to beg in different tones. It was a room the school had set aside for the representatives of each class to hold meetings and organize activities. At the moment there was nobody but the two girls and the afternoon sunlight pouring from the row of windows. Luka examined the bland beige walls, the old cabinets opposite the windows, the water boiler in the corner and the row of mismatched cups next to it. Familiar, boring and reassuring.

"Fine, I'm going on my own, then! I'm not scared." Miki leaned back and crossed her arms theatrically.

"No, you are not." Luka contemplated tying Miki to her chair until the next day and just wheeling her into class. Alas, it would probably constitute a breach of the school's code of conduct. "I'll go with you, but only if you finish those exercises first."

"Yes! Thank you!" Miki bounced in her chair and swung from side to side in a short dance. Luka shook her head but couldn't stop herself from smiling faintly.

"Hurry up or we won't get there in time."

"Yessir!"

* * *

Rosetta Street wasn't a place Luka had any reason to visit for the most part. There was nothing there but old buildings at one side and a huge fenced property at the other. The purpose of the latter was unclear: there was a long line of trees planted next to the fence on the inside, and their foliage helped to further obscure whatever lied on the other side. Perhaps it was a private club of some sort, but it lacked any identifiable signs.

In any case, if one side of the street looked somewhat suspicious, the other side was even worse. The old clinic was located right next to a T-junction, and it loomed over the two high schoolers even from a distance. The fence surrounding the clinic, its gardens and adjacent structures had been reinforced with planks of various sizes and colors and was covered in graffiti. The main building itself was dark grey, discolored and severe. Contrary to what Luka expected, she could see several upper floor windows that were completely open. They were like the myriad black eyes of an enormous stone monster staring back at her. As soon as the thought came to her, Luka tried her best to squash it. There were enough real dangers in the world to come up with imaginary ones.

Luka turned towards Miki and saw that the ominous appearance of the building had actually managed to dent her energy somewhat. The girl was fiddling with a strand of her reddish hair, which Luka knew she only did when she was nervous. "Miki, we don't need to do this, you know."

Miki startled, but immediately adopted a confident posture. "I'm not giving up now! I was just trying to remember how to get in. This way!" She ran across the street in a somewhat stiff manner. Luka pursed her lips but followed Miki without comment.

After walking past the front of the clinic, the pair found a small rectangle of cracked cement and uneven grass, almost like an alleyway between the abandoned property and the warehouse next door. The unused space was lovingly decorated with a dilapidated kiosk, some cardboard boxes and assorted trash. With some agility, it was possible to climb onto the roof of the kiosk, and then grab the long branches of a tree that arched over the fence. It wasn't an exercise one would normally be inclined to do in a school uniform, but once more Miki exerted her considerable powers of persuasion.

"You could've told me this involved gymnastics," Luka complained from the top of the kiosk. She took a look around while Miki climbed. There was no sign of activity, fortunately. In fact, she had seen no vehicles pass through Rosetta Street since they arrived. There were no passerbys returning home after work. The only sound was the occasional chirping of birds. The nearest properties seemed as deserted as the street. Even for a calm neighborhood, it seemed almost suspiciously convenient. Luka shook her head, then turned her attention towards the clinic. Why was the property so neglected? Even if it wasn't the trendiest zone in town, it made little sense to waste space like this.

 _But that's not what's really bothering you, is it?_ A mocking voice resonated inside her head.

Yes, hard as it was to admit, there was something else. Something primal was tugging at her, old sensations from the dawn of humanity. The more Luka looked at those gray walls, the more she felt something gripping her insides and threatening to overcome her normally calm exterior. She had no name for this feeling. Fear didn't seem completely correct.

"Hmm, maybe we should've changed into our tracksuits for this, hehe." Miki climbed up next to her and examined the branches. "Don't get too many scratches or your admirers are going to kill me." With a grunt, the redheaded girl pulled herself up onto the thickest branch within reach. After adjusting her position, she began to carefully advance towards the clinic.

"Just hurry up." Luka gave a last look to the empty street before following Miki up the tree. The leaves of the old crooked tree caressed her cheeks as she stood on the branch, her hands firmly gripping a second branch almost directly above her. To her right, Miki was circling the trunk of the tree with surprising ease. Luka imitated her as best as she could, trying not to think of bugs getting into her hair or under her uniform.

Once they were past the fence, Luka saw that underneath the tree was a patch of long unkempt grass, sprinkled with mushrooms. And more importantly, a closed waste disposal bin. Was that put into place by previous explorers? It certainly was better than dropping directly to the ground, although it made a huge racket when Miki landed on it.

"Oof!"

"Miki, are you okay?!"

"It's fine! It's fine!" Miki said with a grimace. "Just try to ease down slowly, ok?" She climbed down and stood to the side. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and rotated her ankles one at the time, while looking around.

"I'm truly convinced," Luka mumbled and sat down on the branch.

"Come on, weren't you in a hurry?"

"It's not like I'm an expert on tree climbing." After a moment of deliberation, Luka took off her pink scarf and tied one end of it to the tree.

"Oh, that's a great idea! Leave it there so we can use it on the way out."

"It would've been even better to bring rope. Not that I want there to _be_ a next time, but if you ever plan on doing anything remotely similar to this, I want all details beforehand. At least I can come prepared."

Despite the precaution, the bin made a booming metallic sound when Luka's feet landed on it. The rose-haired girl climbed down as fast as possible, fearing it could collapse under her despite its sturdy appearance. A moment later, she stood next to Miki, both of them gawking at the scene before them.

The pair stood on a rectangular section of terrain covered by trees and unchecked vegetation. It seemed to run the length of the property, meeting the remains of the front lawn and driveway at the front, and the extensive gardens at the back that were delimited by a slender metal fence. Directly to their left was a path wide enough to allow for a vehicle to pass through, and the clinic itself.

The side of the structure was speckled with stains of dubious origin and more graffiti. The row of windows at ground level had been boarded somewhat haphazardly, leaving unsettling glimpses of the darkness within. Some glass still survived, other windows had a dirty mesh covering them, others had nothing but air. Dead bushes and weeds hugged the wall along a narrow strip of soil that seemed to surround the entire ground floor.

"That's our way in," Miki said, pointing to the top of the compact fire escape near the corner of the building. The closest window at the top was completely unobstructed and someone had even marked it with a helpful graffiti arrow and a smiley face. "Let's do this!" Miki took out a flashlight from her backpack and brandished it in the air heroically for an instant. Then she jogged in the direction of the stairs, proving that her graceless landing hadn't done lasting damage.

Luka produced a second flashlight from her bag and rubbed the sticker on it with a thumb for a moment. They were technically property of the school, but they were kept at the representatives room in case of emergencies. Luka dearly hoped nobody would need them that evening. With a shake of her head, she followed Miki's energetic steps.

The base of the stairs had been lazily blocked with some old chairs, planks of wood and chains. As Miki promptly demonstrated, anyone in good physical condition could overcome the obstacle by using the railing and the support beams of the fire escape to climb from the side.

"We made a fair bit of noise," Luka noted as they went up to the top floor. "Did you think any neighbors heard us?"

"Maybe they'll think it's just cats," Miki offered unconvincingly.

From the top of the fire escape, the open window looked slightly less unsettling, as the light coming in managed to show part of an empty room, devoid of any furniture except for the metal skeleton of a bed in a corner. More graffiti adorned the walls and ceiling.

Miki again took the lead, acting like it was perfectly reasonable to go over the railing and onto the ledge under the window.

"Have you considered joining the circus?"

"Huh?"

"Nevermind." Luka waited until Miki was safely inside before she attempted the maneuver. _Do NOT look down_ , she repeated inside her head a few times until she was sitting on the window frame. One leg inside, then the other. Done. Her shoes touched the dusty floor of the room and an old wrapper creaked under her weight. There was more trash littered all over the room, a testament to the popularity of the clinic amongst reckless teenagers and squatters. The walls had once been an aggressively ugly shade of light green, but the ravages of time had turned into a even uglier speckled mix of grey, brown, yellow and the last remaining splashes of paint. There was a slightly bitter taste to the air.

The room had two exits, both bare frames devoid of doors, with one leading to a miniscule bathroom. Miki pointed to the other and said, "The light outside is starting to change. Come on." She approached the empty doorway and examined her surroundings for a moment before turning left and walking away. Luka hurriedly did the same to keep Miki within sight.

As Luka was expecting, they were traversing a long corridor, although its exact length was difficult to determine with the far end shrouded in darkness. Other openings along the way allowed for the afternoon sun to tenuously peek into the structure, forming islands of light where dust motes could be seen dancing in the air.

"This place must have several staircases. Do you know which one we need?" Luka asked in a low tone. It didn't seem right to speak at a normal volume at such a menacing location.

"I'm… I'm not completely sure." Miki admitted after a few seconds, without turning her head or stopping. She also used a lower tone, almost a whisper. Before Luka could complain she added, "But the story speaks of a fountain, right?"

"So it's either at the back or this place has an inner courtyard," Luka surmised.

"Yeah. I think we should take the first turn right we find. And-" Whatever Miki was going to say never reached her lips, because at that moment the silence of the clinic was broken by a peculiar sound that seemed to come from somewhere behind them.

Both girls stopped at the same time, as if paralyzed. It wasn't wood settling or leaking pipes, or anything that could reasonably be expected of a long-neglected building. What was it? It sounded almost like the cry of a large animal, but there also was a metallic quality about it…No, that wasn't right at all. Luka racked her brains trying to identify the sound, but her mind seemed to refuse to even process the oddly muffled whine. One second later, she decided all she needed to do was to get as far as possible from its source, whatever it was.

"Go. Go!" She whispered manically into Miki's ear. The girl looked at her, wide-eyed and mouth agape, but when Luka pressed a hand against her back and pushed, Miki snapped out of her shock and ran. Luka set off after her, her heart pounding inside her chest. Perhaps it would've been wiser to inch their way as silently and stealthily as possible, but something in the sound had awaken an atavistic need inside of her to escape, to run away and never stop. The same fear guided Miki as she ran down increasingly dark corridors, turning corners at random. The sound behind them at times grew in volume, only to diminish moments later. Yet it never went away for long. Whatever it was, it was tracking them.

Luka had barely managed to reach that conclusion when disaster struck. Miki turned another corner, only to drop through a huge hole in the floor with a surprised yelp. Luka managed to stop herself from tumbling down at the last second. She sunk to her knees and pointed her flashlight downwards anxiously. "Miki!"

"Luka…" Although her friend's voice was pained, the mere fact that she was able to reply was enough for a temporary sense of relief. The girl was lying on her side on top of a pile of debris and discarded furniture. Her flashlight had flown off her hands as she fell and lied at the bottom of the pile, broken and useless. "Luka, it hurts…"

"Don't move!" Luka chewed on her bottom lip, trying to figure out what to do. That thing chasing them would come soon. But she couldn't move Miki, not without knowing the extent of her injuries. And how was she supposed to carry the younger girl all the way to safety? That only left one choice. "Miki, listen to me. I'm going to get help. You need to stay as quiet as you can, you hear me? I'll make some noise to confuse that thing."

"But-"

"You can't run, can you?" Luka stood up and straightened her uniform, taking care to keep her hand from shaking.

"I- I Don't think so."

"Then do as I say." Luka said firmly, surprising herself with the lack of hesitation in her voice. At least she was a good actress. "It's going to be okay." Without waiting for a reply, she turned around and ran. Moments later, she discovered a pile of destroyed medical equipment strewn in the hallway. She picked up a metal rod with white paint peeling off its rough surface and began to occasionally bang the walls and remaining doors with it as she ran through the corridors. Somewhere behind her in the darkened maze, her pursuer roared. She definitely had its attention now.

Not even in her nightmares Luka had ever experimented something like this. Running without pause, without any plan beyond confusing her enemy. The limited light of her flashlight turned the obstacles on her path into incomprehensible messes, almost devoid of perceptible weight. The walls seemed all the same, there were no signs left to indicate the different sections of the clinic. No way to know where she was, where the next turn would lead her.

The few times she ran into slivers of light from the outside, the sound was too close to stop and try to orient herself using the view outside. There was nothing to do but plunge back into the darkness, with her throat filled with cold and fear. Her breathing felt so loud, so broken. There wasn't enough air inside this horrid place, she couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe.

Another turn, another long hallway. But there was a faint halo of red light before her. A door at the end? She moved forward, bumping against the walls, tripping, reaching desperately with her hands… She pressed her body against the door, feeling the metal bar across it crushing her ribs. It was heavy, but against all her expectations the door opened and she tumbled outside, into the dusk. Her momentum made her crash painfully against a metal railing, then crumble pitifully to the floor. The shock made her drop both the metal rod and the flashlight, but she barely noticed it. Behind her, the door closed almost without a sound.

Luka curled up over the old tiled floor and sobbed. Her heart was pounding, her forehead, her sides, her legs and feet, everything ached. Tears, sweat and dirt covered her face and hands. Her uniform was torn, her knees were bleeding. For a few seconds, all Luka felt like doing was to lie there and shut out everything around her.

But reality wasn't going to go away, no matter how hard she wished for it. Luka rubbed her face and sat up. She gave a brief look around her, finding herself in a long balcony overlooking the long-neglected gardens at the back of the clinic. There was a set of stairs to her right leading downwards, presumably the red stairs of the rumor given the remains of paint on their railing. Then, reluctantly, she examined the door behind her, almost expecting a huge beast to come out at any second. But nothing happened. And she couldn't hear anything from the inside. If anything, the silence made her heart ache more. Miki was still inside! What if the thing was going back for her?

Luka forced herself to stand and approached the stairs. She had to find a good hiding spot, then call someone for help. Her mind was already composing what she was going to say to the emergency operator when she reached the top of the stairs and noticed that the upper steps were stained with something thick and almost black in the reddish light of the sunset. Her stomach jumped. But it was only an old stain. Nothing more. She just needed to step over it and get down. That was all. She looked down at the gardens to gather her breath-

There was a man below, next to the fountain. Looking away from her at the murky waters inside, hands in his pockets with a pensive posture. He was tall and lean, and wore a neat looking grey suit. Aside from his long ponytail, he looked like any young office worker Luka saw every morning on her way to school. He was completely ordinary, except that he had no reason to be there in the first place. Luka gasped, the accumulated fear from her experience escaping her mouth like the steam from a boiling kettle.

The man turned and focused on her immediately, even though her cry hadn't been that loud. There was neither surprise nor curiosity in his elegant features, just a welcoming smile. The face of someone encountering a much beloved friend after a long absence. But Luka began shaking uncontrollably. His eyes…Even accounting for the glint of the setting sun, they were too bright. Like a fire burning him from the inside out, but instead of shouting or displaying any pain, the man only kept smiling, terrible and gentle at the same time. Even with the distance between them, Luka suddenly felt suffocated, almost sensing the man's arms around her. Like a vision, she saw herself embraced by the man, and he delicately cupping her face upwards. Fire pouring out of his mouth and eyes, and into hers. Fire travelling through her airways, burning her flesh, sublimating her blood.

Luka screamed and shakily stepped backwards until her back hit the outside wall of the building. She sank to the floor once more, her mouth still open, hot air coming in and out as she heaved. No sounds came from the garden below, not even a chirp of a bird.

She couldn't go back inside, but every instinct told her to stay away from the man below. Could she maneuver around him, outrun him? Luka took a couple of deep breaths, furiously thinking. The metal rod was still in front of the door. Maybe she could use it as a weapon?

 _Why can't I hear anything? What is he doing?_

Despite her trembling, Luka managed to approach the railing quietly in all fours. Just a peek.

Nothing. There wasn't anyone there. Just an empty garden, unoccupied benches, plants in need of a trim. An old stone fountain in shadows, the last rays of the sun not quite reaching its stone top anymore. Luka examined the scenery straining her eyes, but she couldn't discern any movement. In any case, she would've heard him run towards the auxiliary construction in the back, or towards the trees to the side of the property. But there was no rustling of overgrown grass, or crunching of gravel. The handsome man with fiery eyes was gone, as if was never there in the first place. With a start, she looked downwards, craning her neck. No, he wasn't on the stairs either, although she almost expected to see the orange glow of his gaze looking up at her.

Luka rose to her feet leaning heavily on the railing. Maybe it had been an hallucination after all, her own brain sabotaging her by taking the stupid rumor and twisting it into something horrible. After all, the man's face had seen vaguely familiar. Maybe she had seen him on her way to school at some point during the week, and his attractive appearance had been enough to file him away in some corner of her mind.

Whatever the case, she needed to get moving, Miki needed her help. She grabbed the rod (though it felt awful to get close to the door) and started to descend the stairs. Once she reached the ground, she again examined her surroundings, but Luka was becoming more and more convinced she was alone. The garden felt completely calm. She shook her head.

"Help! Is someone there?!"

It was Miki's voice! Luka turned towards the menacing building, eyes wide. But the voice didn't seem to come from within its walls. Her brow furrowed, but she immediately set off running towards the side of the building, gripping the metal rod like a baseball bat. The shouting grew louder as she approached the front. There was a figure on the front lawn, leaning on an elbow. Even in the growing darkness, Luka could see Miki's reddish hair. Luka stopped for a moment, mouth hanging open. Then her eyes looked beyond the frail figure-

The metal gates at the far end of the driveaway were flung wide open, letting her see the lampposts and the pavement outside. No chains, no planks, nothing obstructing the way out.

Miki's dazed stare finally centered on the paralyzed figure standing in the shadow of the clinic. "Luka?! Luka, is that you?"

Luka nodded dumbly. After dropping the rod, her legs guided towards her younger friend, even as her mind threatened to collapse. She couldn't form words any more. For all of her intelligence, now she was like a single-minded animal. Escape. Escape. Escape. No other thoughts surged from the raging sea inside her mind. Ignoring Miki's yelps of pain and confusion, Luka forced her to stand and wrapped one arm around her waist. Miki's other arm curled around Luka's neck.

"What's going on?! Luka, please say something!"

Luka didn't reply. She couldn't reply. All her energies were focused on dragging Miki away from that awful place. Miki cooperated as best as she could, tears running down her face. Something was wrong with one of her legs, maybe her ankle. Luka didn't stop, didn't even apologize for making Miki walk. They needed to get away, no matter what.

"Luka, I don't… I don't remember how I got out. I closed my eyes for a minute or so, and then… Luka, how am I here?!" Miki's voice finally dissolved into uncontrollable crying, loud and ugly. But they kept moving. The gates were close.

One more step, one more.

There was a faint rustle, somewhere behind them. Luka didn't stop, didn't look back.

One more step.

More rustling sounds, from different directions.

One more step, and they crossed the gates. Luka looked to her left and saw headlights in the distance. A car, heading their way. That was enough to energize the girls: despite their injuries, they approached the nearest lamppost. Miki used it to keep herself upright while Luka waved her arms, trying to get the driver to stop. Once it was near enough, she realized it was a cab, perhaps on his way back from a long trip. It slowed down and stopped next to them, and the cab driver peered at them suspiciously, leaning across the co-pilot seat.

"What in the world are you girls doing here at this hour?!" His eyes nervously darted from one girl to the other taking in their disastrous appearances, then the dim surroundings, almost as if expecting for someone else to jump out from a corner. He noticed the open gates of the clinic and his eyes widened, before looking back at Luka and Miki with renewed alarm.

"We…we were exploring the old clinic," Miki provided before he could say anything.

"Someone was chasing us," Luka blurted out, her voice a burnt, low whisper. "Please take us away from here!"

The cab driver turned pale. "Get in!" He opened the passenger door, then began to riffle through his pockets, shooting nervous glances at the girls, then to the gates and the building beyond. Luka basically hauled Miki inside the cab, then barely had time to slid inside and shut the door before the driver let out an expletive and turned on the ignition. The car rushed forward down the empty street, clearly above the speed limit for residential areas. No one inside cared.

Miki began crying once more, her face pressed against Luka's neck. The older girl caressed her head mechanically, her other hand gripping tightly the roof handle to her right. Her eyes were fixed on the back of the head of the driver. For a long moment, no one spoke.

The cab reached the end of Rosetta Street and turned towards a more populated road. The driver slowed down to a more reasonable speed and he wiped his brow with the back of his hand.

"What did you see?"

"Eh?" The man said, almost distractedly.

"You saw something," Luka said, her voice still a rough, raspy growl that barely seemed recognizable to her ears. "Back there."

The man hesitated, then gave a nervous laugh. "I thought… Doesn't matter, really. Where do I take you? Are you going to report the creeper?"

Luka shook her head. What would she even say? "I just want to go home." She gave the man her home address. Miki barely reacted at this; in fact, she seemed completely exhausted by the events at the old clinic. Luka decided to have the younger girl stay at her place. Of course, Miki needed to get her leg checked out, but surely that could wait until the sun was back in the sky.

"But if you give the cops his description, you could get a perv off the streets," the driver countered.

"We didn't see who it was." Or what it was. A moment later, Luka recalled the stranger in the gardens, but she felt especially reluctant to speak about that.

"Oh. Yeah, they aren't going to do much without a face," the driver gave a short, quirky little laugh. "Yeah, don't waste your time." He sounded a bit relieved. Perhaps he didn't want to get involved in any dealings with the police after all.

And that was it. The driver quickly moved onto some frivolous chatter to which Luka only partly paid attention as she watched the streetlights go past her window. There was a good number of people milling about, enjoying the night life of the town.

Now that the immediate danger was behind her, Luka's thoughts naturally turned towards Yuu, her mother. She was due to arrive home the next day. On one hand, that made it easier to conceal the whole adventure from her. All they needed to say is that Miki tripped while they were playing a game in the backyard or a similar lie. Yuu wasn't the type to fuss about little things. Luka scrunched her lips. No, if she wore some foundation and tights under her skirt the next day, her mother wouldn't notice a thing. As for the uniform, Yuu seldom asked questions when she asked her for extra money. Repairing or replacing it wasn't a problem.

On the other hand, Luka felt in need of some reassurance. The world had made every effort to stop making sense the last couple of hours. Running to her mother for comfort was childish and embarrassing, but she wanted it all the same. Even if it meant a scolding. Even if Yuu said the whole story was absurd and that Luka was being silly. Actually, that would be better than Yuu believing her daughter had run into something eldritch, Luka decided.

"So I go past this crossing, and then?" The driver's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Take the first left, then go straight," Luka replied. "When you get to the end of the street, take the right."

"Got it."

"Luka." Miki suddenly lifted her head, although her eyelids were still drooping. "I just realized..." A long pause. Luka almost expected her friend to begin snoring. But she continued, "My backpack is still back there."

"You aren't going back to get it, are you?" The driver asked with an incredulous tone.

"No, she isn't. Everything inside that pack can be replaced," Luka replied flatly. "Stop in front of the house with the ivy, please."

The lights were off, just as Luka expected. After paying the fare, she opened the door and the driver carried Miki up the small set of stairs and into the living room. He laid her on a coach, after casting an appreciative look at the expensive decor of the room.

"Stay out of trouble," he said with a wink to the red-haired girl and tipped her cap at her. Miki replied with undesciphable muttering and a weak nod. The driver smiled and headed out, followed by Luka.

"Excuse me," the girl said from her door as the driver walked around his car. He paused with one hand on the roof of the vehicle. "You saw something when you looked past the gates."

His fingers curled, the hand tightening into a fist. His expression was guarded.

"I know you did."

The driver looked to a side, one side of his mouth curling into a humorless smile. "Kid, let it go."

Without thinking, Luka descended a couple of steps. There was no way she could do that, not without stripping her experience from some of its mysteries. "Please, I need to know."

The driver gave out another little chuckle. "How about this? You promise to never go back there, and I'll tell what I _think_ I saw. I don't want to see your face on a missing poster, you hear me?"

Luka nodded.

"Well, it was only for a second, and the place is so creepy, I probably imagined it." The driver played with his keys. "But…" He examined Luka's face. "You know how cats' eyes glow in the dark? Well, there were several sets of those by the main door of the clinic. It wasn't cats, though. It was something else. Too big." He opened the door of his cab and shot Luka a last look. "I don't know what else to tell you, kid. Just stay in the light from now on, ok?" Without waiting for a reply, he got inside the cab and drove away.

Luka stood there for a moment, watching the car decrease in size and disappear. Then she quickly turned around and climbed the steps of her home. With a satisfying slam of the front door, she shut out the night.


	2. Canopus Circle

Chapter 2 - Canopus Circle

* * *

Luka rested her arms on the windowsill and absently watched the tepid landscape outside. A steady stream of cars filled the street beyond the school gates; many drivers were still on the way to work or other obligations. It was a familiar sight, just something to focus her eyes on. Up above, the sky was pearly grey and completely covered by clouds. Privately, she always considered those chalky, empty skies more depressing that rain or snow. But she was the only one in a melancholy mood that day. Behind her, her classmates were chatting in small groups, waiting for the start of the day without a care in the world.

Luka glanced at her phone in her left hand. No messages. She wasn't really expecting any, really. Her mother was probably going to sleep until late in the afternoon. And Miki was comfortably resting in the guest bedroom with a bottle full of painkillers and a nice ice packet on her ankle.

 _I'm so stupid._ Surrounded by daylight and her noisy classmates, the terrors of the previous day had as much bite as a tiger made out of paper maché. The sound had been a junkie messing with them, for sure. And the cab driver had either exaggerated or outright lied about the eyes watching them. It couldn't be true.

 _It's my fault she's hurt._ Luka had panicked, and that made Miki panic as well. Instead of hiding, letting whoever it was to pass them by and then return to the fire escape, Luka ran like a little child, letting Miki get injured in the process. And to cap the experience, Luka's fear had utterly dominated her to the point she probably imagined the strange appearance of the man by the fountain. Her cheeks burned with shame at the thought; she inclined her head, letting her pink hair hide her face.

Luka was supposed to be the serious and responsible one. Even if some people at school didn't like her aloof attitude, everyone knew she was reliable. Why had she relented to Miki's pleas in the first place? Was she so afraid to lose her admiration? How weak. And once inside the clinic, she had made every possible bad decision aside from running _towards_ the odd noise.

The sound of the classroom door brought her back to the present, and she turned around. A second later, her jaw dropped.

Her teacher and a lilac-haired boy walked towards the teacher's desk at the front of the class. Luka's classmates rushed to their seats, but Luka remained where she was, unmoving. After a moment, her teacher eyed her with a raised eyebrow.

"Luka, unless you plan to take charge of today's lesson, I suggest you sit down. Right now."

A couple of girls tittered. Luka muttered an apology and went to her seat. The boy with lilac hair grinned at her, which only deepened her shock. _It was such a familiar smile._

The teacher presumably began to introduce the new student, but Luka's mind barely registered the fact that the older woman was speaking. All her senses were focused on her new classmate, to a painful degree.

The man by the fountain had been in his late twenties, maybe early thirties. In contrast, the boy staring at her was unmistakably around her age, at most a year older. Although taller than her, he was too small to fit into the neat grey suit of the stranger. His messy hair was dangerously close to defying school regulations, but its length was nowhere near enough to match the long ponytail cascading down the man's shoulders. But his face had the same delicately sculpted features. Even his eyes were like a faded echo of the fiery eyes she had seen the day before, since they were of a peculiar tangerine hue.

The boy seemed as intrigued by her as she was by him. Luka's classmates were granted another opportunity to laugh when the teacher had to wave her hand in front of the boy's face to get his attention, so intently were the two gazing at one another. Finally, the boy introduced himself as Gakupo Kamui, a recent arrival from the south; he greeted his new classmates cordially, then sat at a desk to the right of Luka, with two other students between them. After unpacking his pen and notebook, he gave the rose-haired girl a last smile, then shifted his gaze to the front of the classroom.

Luka wasn't quite able to do the same. Whenever the teacher was facing the blackboard, Luka's eyes turned towards the new student. Her classmates soon noticed her unusual behavior, which lead to more amusement. As for Gakupo, he glanced a few times her way, but his smile grew a bit forced. To her surprise, Luka realized he was uncomfortable with all the attention.

All the better. Whatever was going on, it was good to know that Gakupo could feel an emotion as human and prosaic as embarrassment. He probably wasn't some kind of pod person. Probably.

Several centuries passed until finally a chime sounded signaling break time. Like a toy on a spring, Luka jumped from her seat and headed directly towards the new student, barely noticing it when she pushed a gossiping classmate or two out of the way. Gakupo looked up at her with alarm, the rest of the class with excitement.

"Can I help you?" Gakupo asked with some hesitation.

"Come with me," Luka grabbed his arm and pulled, forcing him to stand. Gakupo sputtered incoherently but yielded without struggle. Luka marched out of the class still dragging him by the arm, accompanied by laughter and exaggerated kissing sounds.

"Hey-"

"It will only take a moment," Luka replied automatically, without slowing her pace. In truth, she wasn't so sure it would be that easy. Or that what she was doing was a good idea.

Other students standing by their classroom doors or walking down the corridor eyed them with curiosity as they passed by. It began to dawn on Luka that everyone in the school was going to find out that she pounced on the new student like a complete lunatic. It made her blush but she kept going until they reached the representatives room.

There was a male student inside going through one of the cabinets. He eyed the pair with some surprise, taking in Luka's hand on Gakupo's arm and her flushed face. Then, he smiled with complicity. "I think I'm done here." He grabbed a folder from the cabinet and walked outside, giving Luka a not so subtle wink. She successfully fought the impulse to answer with an eyeroll. Once the boy was out of sight, Luka finally released Gakupo's arm to close and lock the door.

 _Here we go._

Gakupo leaned on the table, watching her with a mix of fascination and concern. Luka waited a few seconds, almost daring him to turn into some kind of freakish abomination. Nothing happened.

"This isn't quite the reaction I was expecting," Gakupo said. "Honestly, I wasn't sure you'd remember me."

"What?"

"I mean, it's been years! And you didn't even say goodbye when you moved away." He gave her another gentle smile, but it faded once he noticed Luka's confusion.

"I have no idea who you are," Luka said bluntly. She looked downwards, searching for words. How to properly convey the man by the fountain and how it feel to meet his gaze? Was it even something she wanted to lend solidity by using words to describe it? Finally, she said, "You do seem familiar." That much was true.

"I would hope so." He chuckled and looked around the room, thinking. "Do you mind if I make myself some tea?"

Luka waved her hand towards the corner and Gakupo went to examine the water boiler. "Use any mug, they should be clean." She sat down at the table and rested her chin on her hands, watching him.

After a couple minutes, Gakupo sat across her and presented with her with her own steaming mug. "You look like you need it."

"I do," Luka conceded. Once she took a nice sip of the sweet beverage, she felt closer to her usual calm persona. "Alright, let's start over."

"Sure."

"Why do I know your face?"

"We used to be neighbors, Luka." He tilted his head, searching her face for a spark of recognition. "Pyrgi Street? Your family owned a white two-story house, if I remember correctly. It was demolished after your Dad sold the place, though."

Luka placed the mug on the table, moving as slowly as a diver under the ocean. It was all so fuzzy. Her memories from before her parents' divorce were very scattered, almost as if she had made a concerted effort to bury it all, both good and bad. But fragments resurfaced as she examined Gakupo's face. "Your house has an outer corridor?"

"It does!"

She sat on the wooden floor of that corridor, once. No, many times. She remembered it creaking under her favourite pink sandals, now too small for her feet. The wooden columns holding the corridor's roof were immense and dark in her memories, surely magnified by the years and distance. Beyond the columns, a garden so blurred that it was nothing but a sensation of freshness. Behind her, dull chanting... That day she wore black, not pink. Uncomfortable closed shoes that didn't fit quite right. That day…

"A funeral," Luka blurted out. "I remember a funeral service." The forced smile returned to Gakupo's face, and Luka bit her lip. Another memory floated to the surface of her mind: a boy with lilac hair, dressed in dark clothes. Curled up in a corner of the fresh garden, sobbing. And she had stood there watching, for what felt like ages.

"It's fine!" Gakupo waved his hands, looking almost comically concerned by her expression. "It happened so long ago." He rested his forearms on the table patently trying to look relaxed. "Gumi and I had to go live with my uncle for a while after that. But I'm old enough to take care of the house now." He traced the rim of his mug with a finger. "We should live on our own terms, anyway."

"Is it just you and your sister?" Luka asked, trying to recall anything about Gumi. All she could think of was a green-haired baby with her face and hands covered in whipped cream and chestnut purée, clapping happily. Gumi probably was past her montblanc-destroyer phase by now.

"Just the two of us." Gakupo smiled, this time more naturally.

"So no older brothers...no older cousins?"

Gakupo tugged a lock of his hair. "No brothers. And all my cousins are younger than me."

"I see." Luka dropped her gaze. And it would've been such a simple, convenient answer. Gakupo's rebellious older brother goes out to explore the abandoned clinic across town and runs into a silly schoolgirl. He hides to give her a scare, but she runs off before he can jump out. Simple.

Gakupo sighed. Once more, he rested his arms on the table, this time with a more determined look. "Ok, I gotta ask. Luka, is there something bothering you? Why are we hiding in here?"

Luka rubbed her face. "Please promise you won't tell anyone."

"I promise." Gakupo leaned forward slightly, expectant.

"Yesterday I sneaked into an abandoned building. It was stupid, I know. There's this rumor going around, and my friend wanted to check it out." Luka paused, expecting the young man across her to display his disapproval or shock at her recklessness, but Gakupo merely stared at her, waiting for her to continue. "There was something inside, I don't know what. We ended up running like idiots in the darkness, and my friend fell down a hole in the floor."

Gakupo startled. "Is he okay?!"

"She." Luka pointed to a group photograph pinned to a cork board on the wall. "See the redhead? That's her, Miki. She's fine, although I think she's going to need a cast."

Gakupo made a sound of acknowledgement, then sipped from his mug. "What happened then?"

"I told her to hide and went ahead to look for help. But then I stepped outside…"

"Yes?"

"There was a man outside by the old fountain." Luka's voice failed her. The memory of the man's strange aura was as vivid as anything in the room. Looking into Gakupo's questioning eyes, she suddenly realized there was a quality there, some hard to define characteristic that was completely missing from the stranger's gaze. The man by the fountain was missing that ineffable part of his being, and that void inside of him was the true source of his distressing, horrifying presence. She swallowed, fighting back a sudden impulse to cry. "He looked like you. At least I thought so."

Gakupo lifted his eyebrows. "Are you sure it wasn't a trick of the light or something? I was still unpacking yesterday."

"I don't know, maybe." Luka curled her hands around the mug, feeling the warmth seep into her fingers. "Actually, I know it wasn't you. He was too old, and- Well, it wasn't you. But I don't know what I saw."

Gakupo scratched his cheek. "It's just an odd coincidence, I suppose." He looked as if he wanted to say something else, but then Luka's phone buzzed. Yuu had returned to the world of the living, it seemed.

"Give me a second," Luka said before taking the call. Gakupo nodded.

"Luka Megurine." Her mother's voice sounded uncharacteristically grouchy. "What were you thinking!?"

"Eh?"

"I just woke up and I found some girl sleeping in the guest room, and no sign of you."

"It's a school day."

"And yet you left this girl here and didn't think of saying anything."

"I left you at note in the studio. And Miki can fill you in…" Luka couldn't help but be a bit surprised. Sure it was an unusual situation, but did it merit such anger? Miki was supposed to say that her injuries were a result of her trying to climb inside the old treehouse the previous owners had installed in the backyard. As far as Yuu knew, it was just a silly accident.

As if reading her thoughts, Yuu gave out a sigh. "You do realize that my first thought was to eat something, right? I almost jumped out of my skin when I saw that bag with bloody clothes in the kitchen. And then, I find a stranger sleeping inside my house."

"Oh," Luka exclaimed with remorse. The night before, she placed Miki's ruined clothes and the wet rags she used to clean her cuts inside a plastic bag next to the kitchen's trash bin. Luka had meant to take care of it later, but completely forgot to do so once morning came.

"I guess that translates to 'Sorry mom, this won't happen again' in Luka speak," Yuu commented, some of her usual cheer creeping back into her voice. "I'm going to take Miki to the doctor now, but this is far from over. Expect some punishment, young lady."

"Yes, mom." Luka replied submissively.

"Now _that_ tone I like," her mother had the gall to say. "And come straight home after school, you hear me?"

"Yes, mom." It's not like she was in the habit of wandering around town in the first place.

"Don't get into more trouble," Yuu said victoriously and hung up. Luka stared at her cell with a slight pout. She wasn't a troublemaker. But now she had inadvertently given Yuu all the ammunition she needed for years to come. Her mother would surely milk her slip up for everything it was worth.

"Is everything ok?" Gakupo asked.

"I think my mom is cherishing the opportunity to ground me."

Gakupo huffed. "You gotta admit, she has good reason to."

 _And she doesn't even know the truth._ "Yeah." Luka rubbed the crystal surface of the phone, tracing the pattern of pink waves of the wallpaper in her home screen. "But she's always the irresponsible one, ever since they separated. I always have to take care of things. Now I make one mistake and she treats me like a little girl?"

Gakupo just smiled and took another sip of his tea. Belatedly, Luka realized he probably would welcome the opportunity to be scolded by his parents. Once more, she recalled the chanting, the oppressive smell of the funeral arrangements, the boy sobbing behind the large leaves of the alocasia. Without realizing what she was doing, her hand timidly reached forward.

The chime signaling the end of the recess rung out, before she could touch the long fingers resting on the table. Gakupo pulled back his chair and stood up. "We need to go back to class."

"Right." Luka dropped her arm to her side and stood up as well. "Let's go." She slipped the infracting hand inside her pocket. "Just leave the mug there."

"You sure?"

"I'll come back and wash them later. We don't want to be late for the next class, believe me. "

"Ok" Gakupo tilted his head slightly again, waiting for further explanation, but Luka walked past him and unlocked the door.

"Come on, you'll see." She waved impatiently, about to grab him by the arm again. But she recalled her classmates making kissing sounds and looked away, suddenly embarrassed. "Just hurry."

"I'm still learning my way around the school. Lead the way."

* * *

The rest of the classes for the day went by in a blissfully normal way. Finally the chime sounded once more, and a good portion of Luka's classmates rushed for the door as swiftly as miniature tornadoes. In contrast, the rose-haired girl calmly put away her texts and pencils, then fussed unnecessarily with her hair ribbon and cuffs.

As she was hoping, Gakupo came closer once the rowdier members of their classroom were outside, thundering down the corridor. "Do you mind if I walk you home?"

Girlish giggles erupted from a corner behind them. A gaggle of girls was still there, looking at them with big, bright eyes. Luka ignored them. "I was going to suggest the same thing. My mom will want to say hi, in any case."

Once they were walking side by side down the corridor, Gakupo whispered, "You didn't tell me what happened to the guy."

"The guy? Oh, right. I don't know, once I came down the stairs and into the garden, he was gone."

"Gone," Gakupo repeated, again tugging at his hair. "And he didn't say anything to you?"

"He didn't make any sounds at all. He just smiled at me, and when I looked in his direction again after a second or two he wasn't there."

Gakupo gave out a little grunt of acknowledgement, but he looked away, seemingly examining the staircase at the end of the corridor.

"You can go ahead and say it." Luka said, somewhat annoyed, when they began to descend the metal steps.

"Eh?"

"You think I'm crazy."

"No, no! It's the opposite," Gakupo looked at the side, sheepishly. "You are going to think I have a loose screw."

"Why?"

"I was just thinking… You said that site used to be a clinic, right?"

"That's what everyone says, anyway."

"Then there's a good chance that people died in there."

"So?" A single cold syllable.

Gakupo noticed her unwelcoming tone, but chose to continue. "One explanation I've heard often for weirdness is that suffering people leave behind energies that-"

"Stop right there," Luka said drily. "I don't wanna hear paranormal rubbish."

Gakupo had the decency to look somewhat ashamed. "It was just an idea."

"A stupid idea."

"What do you think happened back there, then?"

"I told you, I don't know. But it wasn't a ghost wearing your face, I can tell you that much. That doesn't make any sense."

Gakupo shrugged. "Sense or not, I'm glad you're okay. I'd hate to come back to town only to discover my ghost doppelgänger bit your head off."

"What did you say about a loose screw?" Luka tapped her right temple. "There's a good explanation for everything I experienced back there, I'm sure of it." Even the open gates. Or Miki's unexpected relocation to the front lawn.

Gakupo gave out a soft laugh, but looked repentant. "I suppose I've read too many horror stories lately."

When the pair reached the main hall, Luka saw a group of younger girls wearing tights and tutus, all ready to start their afterschool dancing lessons. Luka turned to her companion and asked, "Is Gumi here at the school?"

"She had a sudden stomach-ache this morning. Or wanted the satisfaction to see me walk to school while she stayed behind at home in her pajamas. Pick one."

"Not very disciplined, is she?"

Another shrug. "She can be responsible, under the right circumstances. But today's her first day all alone in the house. I'd be more surprised if she didn't want to stay home and investigate everything."

Luka hesitated for a moment. "Does she remember them?"

"Not really," Gakupo replied with a hint of sadness in his voice. "She was too young when it happened."

"I'm really sorry." She truly meant it. Despite all their bickering lately, she couldn't imagine life without Yuu by her side.

"Don't worry about it." Gakupo made a motion with his hand, as if to push the past out of their way as they walked. As they neared the exit, he pointed to the display cases nearby in a transparent effort to change the subject. "Not bad. Do you play any sports?"

"I like swimming, but I'm not good enough to win any trophies. You?"

"I've taken some fencing lessons." Gakupo traced a complicated figure in the air with an imaginary sword. His eyes shone with genuine enthusiasm as he added, "You should come with me to an exhibition sometime!" He went on to explain some technical things about the different swords used that Luka was sure she would forget in half an hour or so. She didn't particularly mind the unrequested dump of information. If anything, it made her a bit jealous. Lately, it was hard for her to muster that level of passion for anything.

They reached the school gates and Luka pointed to her right. "You don't mind walking, do you? I live on Canopus Circle, it's not that far."

"No problem."

The afternoon had brought with it a slight rise of temperature. The cloud cover now parted here and there, letting some sunlight touch the ground below. It actually felt nice to walk down the street, stepping on sunlight, then into blueish shadows, engaged in easy conversation. Luka felt buoyant, as if the simple fact of having someone to talk to had suddenly released all the tension accumulated inside her from the day before, or even before that. Even the colors of the world around her seemed more vivid as she walked: the metallic sheen of the cars racing down the street, the signs, the products behind the glass displays of the shops, the light purple of Gakupo's hair. The world could be very appealing at times.

"So, let me guess, you don't like books with supernatural themes," Gakupo asked as they waited for a traffic light to change.

"Who says I don't? But it's just fiction, it doesn't belong in real life," Luka countered.

"I don't think it's that simple."

"Oh, so you _do_ believe in spooky ghosts?" Luka smiled teasingly.

"All I'm saying is that we shouldn't discount it beforehand." Gakupo closed his eyes and recited, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Luka, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

"Please tell me you didn't learn that quote expressly to make credulity sound reasonable."

"You make it sound like I'm the one that brought up the subject in the first place," Gakupo waged his index finger. "You are the one that jumped on me with a weird story."

"I guess so," Luka conceded. The traffic light changed and they continued walking.

"I do wonder about something, though." Gakupo let out a small chuckle. "Actually, I have a ton of questions. But I was going to ask is this: Would you be ok with never finding out what truly happened yesterday?"

Luka stopped and stared at him for a couple seconds, forcing him to stop as well. "I don't know." She looked down at her shoes, and the concrete around them. Could she ignore it and keep pretending the world was as orderly as she wanted it to be? "I feel so stupid."

"You are not." Gakupo's voice radiated warmth. "There's wrong with wanting answers." He lightly placed a hand on top of her head. Luka's eyes darted up in surprise at the gesture. Almost immediately, Gakupo withdrew his hand, mumbling an apology.

"I, it's okay," Luka said looking away. "Hm, that's my house." In the distance, the ivy-covered home beckoned at her. She set out walking once more.

"Is it just you and your mother?" Gakupo asked after catching up to her.

"Yes. Well, there's Miriam, she comes by to clean and cook twice a week. Mom doesn't like to have too many people in the way."

"Does that include visitors?" Gakupo muttered, almost sounding like he was talking to himself.

"No, I don't mean my friends. I can bring over whoever I want," Luka clarified. Of course, she seldom brought anyone home in the first place, so her mother had little chance to complain.

Once they came closer, Luka had the distinct impression her mother wasn't home. All the windows in the front were closed, with curtains drawn. Perhaps Yuu decided to go shopping after dropping Miki off?

Gakupo watched her unlock the front door from the bottom of the short set of stairs, dubitative. "Maybe I should come back another day to greet her?"

"You are already here, aren't you? Come in. She should be back soon enough."

Gakupo obeyed without comment. After hanging their bags and coats in the foyer, Luka marched straight into the kitchen and got some cookies from one of the cupboards and filled a bowl with them. A few steps away in the corridor, her new classmate was looking around discreetly. "This is a very nice house."

"Mom's career really took these last couple years. We live well." Luka poured some juice into a couple of glasses. "Here."

"Ah, thanks." Gakupo grabbed one of the glasses.

Luka wasn't quite sure what would be Yuu's reaction upon finding her alone with a boy in her bedroom, but she wasn't in any hurry to find out. So, she took the bowl and the other glass and made her way to the living room, Gakupo in tow. She sat primly on one side of the couch and set down the bowl of cookies on the coffee table.

"Do you mind if I give Gumi a quick call to let her know I'll be home late?"

"Go ahead." Luka waved a cookie in the direction of the old-fashioned telephone in the corner. It wasn't as old as it appeared, of course, but Yuu liked the vintage look.

Gakupo had barely greeted his sister when a sound came from upstairs. Gakupo and Luka froze, handset and half-eaten cookie in midair. "I'll call you later," Gakupo uttered into the receiver and quietly hung up. He and Luka stared at one another. The girl slowly rose from the couch and tiptoed closer to Gakupo.

"Are you sure your mom isn't here?" Gakupo whispered into her ear.

"We would've seen her purse and keys when we got in," Luka replied in the same tone.

Another sound, this time a loud pounding. Whoever it was, they had no intention of being subtle.

"There's no wind outside, so that was not just a window slamming shut." Indeed, the living room windows displayed the perfectly still scenery outside. "I'd say we go look…" Gakupo started to say. Luka was about to object, but he quickly added with a nervous smile. "But it's smarter to go outside and call the cops with your cell."

Luka nodded, somewhat relieved. Gakupo took her hand and they both walked quietly towards the exit. However, before they could reach the door, the pair heard a car come to a stop outside. Car doors opened and a pair of voices, a woman and a man, reached their ears. A moment later, the front door opened and Yuu appeared with shopping bags in both hands, followed by the cab driver carrying even more loot.

Yuu's eyes went from Luka to Gakupo, then to their interlocked hands. Her eyebrows rose. "I see you brought some trouble home this time."

Luka let go of Gakupo's hands and ran forward. "Mom, there's someone upstairs!" She whispered urgently.

"What?"

"We just got here, and then we heard a noise, and-" More rumbling upstairs.

Yuu's brow furrowed. She absently dropped her bags in a corner of the foyer, a gesture the cab driver imitated. She turned towards the man and asked with a crooked smile, "You wouldn't happen to have a crowbar in the trunk, would you?"

"Ma'am, that's not a good idea," the driver said, taking a step back.

"I guess I'll have to take care of this myself, then," Yuu mused and went into the living room.

"Mom, what are you doing?!" Luka exclaimed, appalled. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the cab driver slip out of the house.

A moment later, Yuu emerged brandishing a fireplace poker and headed upstairs. Luka and Gakupo looked at one another briefly with matching expressions of dismay. Then Luka followed her, pulling Gakupo along. "Mom, wait!" She muttered furiously, to no avail, until Yuu reached the top of the stairs. There, she paused for a second, examining the scene before her.

Nothing seemed out of place, from what Luka could see from her position behind her mother. All four doors in the hallway were closed, as usual. To the left were the master bedroom and a guest room, to the right Luka's room and a bathroom. After some consideration, Yuu crept closer to the door leading to her room. She leaned on the door listening. From her expression, Luka surmised nothing out of the ordinary was happening inside. Her mother slowly turned the doorknob and peeked inside. Given the owner's minimalist taste in decor, it was easy to tell it was empty. She returned to the hall and tried the bathroom. Empty as well.

"Mrs. Megurine, this isn't safe."

"It's Ms. Asakawa now. Luka, keep your boyfriend quiet," Yuu said without turning around.

"He's not-! Mom, this isn't a prank!"

"Let's just say I find the timing of this a little suspicious." Yuu smirked. "If I find one of your friends trying to be funny, I'm gonna spank them." She moved forward and opened the door to the guest room. She went inside to check the wardrobe and under the bed. Her daughter and Gakupo trailed behind, keeping the door to the hallway open.

"Why would I lie?!" Luka demanded, briefly forgetting to lower her voice.

"I didn't peg you as the type to engage in fratboy stunts, and yet somehow your friend broke a couple bones while playing with you. Maybe your rebellious phase is finally kicking in?" Yuu opened the wardrobe, only to see a couple of empty wire hangers.

"That's ridi-" Luka's angry reply was cut short by another pounding sound, this time clearly from the room across the hallway. Her bedroom.

"Whoever it is, it doesn't sound like they are being gentle," Gakupo noted.

"And why would I let someone trash my room for a joke, huh?" Luka whirled around to ask Yuu, nervousness fueling her anger. "Can't you see I'm scared?!"

Her mother frowned again, staring at her daughter for a couple seconds. Then, she walked towards the final door of the hallway, poker at the ready. Her body language was enough to suggest that she was taking the situation a bit more seriously. She signalled the other two to remain at a distance, then quickly turned the doorknob and pushed the door all the way open. And stood in the doorframe, staring.

"What is it?" Luka asked in a tiny voice.

There was no reply at first. Yuu advanced slowly, turning around to look at all corners of the room. With her mother away from the doorframe, Luka finally got a good look inside. Most of the room looked untouched aside from the window by her bed, which was completely open. The wooden panels were swinging slightly with a creaking sound. Yuu stopped the right one with her free hand and examined the latch in silence. It looked strangely warped and blotchy. Yuu let go of the window pane and then crossed the room to examine Luka's closet.

"Do you see anything out of place?" She asked her daughter.

Luka took a step into the room, still pulling Gakupo around unconsciously. As soon as she looked to her left, her stomach dropped.

A folded pink scarf rested innocently on her desk. The same pink scarf she had left tied to a tree across town, the day before.


	3. Pyrgi Street

Chapter 3 - Pyrgi Street

* * *

Luka sat on the living room couch with her hands resting on her lap. Her eyes were glued to the pink scarf on the coffee table. Gakupo was standing next to her, eyes going from his classmate to the garment and back.

Yuu came through the door. "Ok, they're sending someone tomorrow to fix your window. You should use the guest bedroom for now." She sat across Luka and crossed her arms. "And now you're going to tell what's going on. You turned white as a sheet when you saw that scarf."

Luka pressed her lips together for a few seconds. She gave Gakupo a quick glance, without even knowing what she expected to gain from it. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"So?"

The rose-haired girl suppressed a sigh in response to her mother's impatient tone. "It's nothing. I just thought…" Luka paused for a couple seconds, trying to find a plausible lie. Nothing convincing came to mind. "I thought I left it at school."

"Did you?" Yuu raised one eyebrow.

"I don't know," Luka said despondently. "Mom, I don't know what's happening!" That part was true, at least. It was all so bewildering she wasn't even sure how to feel.

Yuu's expression softened, and she reached forward to pat Luka's head. "It's going to be okay. Whoever it was up there, they're gone. I'll get us a proper security system like I should've done ages ago. We'll be fine." She leaned back. "I need to make a couple more calls. I have no idea if the police comes over when there is no loss of property, I guess it's time to find out." She stood up and gave Luka a brief hug before leaving the room once more.

After that, the only sound for an instant or two was the clock on the wall, and the constant but faint rumble of the vehicles rushing down the street.

"What's the real reason that scarf is freaking you out?" Gakupo asked in a low tone. "You left it at the clinic?"

Luka nodded.

"Why not tell her the whole story, then? If something or someone followed you home, she should be prepared."

"Prepared for what, exactly? I don't know what's going on, and you don't know either, no matter what your stupid stories say!" Luka stood up, swept up by a cold, helpless fury. Thanks to the sudden movement, her face and Gakupo ended up uncomfortably close.

"I…" Gakupo trailed off, caught by surprise. "Maybe I should go." He took a small step backwards.

Luka stared at him darkly. "You think so?"

The boy seemed about to say something else, but as soon as he opened his mouth he closed it again.

"Go away!" Luka snapped before she realized what she was doing. She immediately felt embarrassment at her tone, mixed with a small, contemptible drop of relief at being able to vent her frustration. Even if it wasn't enough to feel relaxed. And even if her new classmate had nothing to do with her strange plight.

Gakupo frowned, but his expression seemed more pitying than outright offended or annoyed. He mumbled something unintelligible and quickly walked towards the foyer and the exit.

Luka remained where she stood, her knuckles white with tension, long after the sound of retreating footsteps faded.

* * *

By the time Gakupo reached his home at Pyrgi Street, the sunset was beginning to paint the wild garden around it with shades of red and orange. Just like your eyes, said a voice in the bottom of his memories. He smiled slightly, wondering if it was a true memory or something he had fabricated. Perhaps it didn't matter, as long as it kept their presence alive within him.

Instead of going into the house, he went around it towards the back. Five minutes sitting quietly to organize his thoughts, that's all he needed. Then he would go cook dinner for his sister and himself.

He set down his backpack and sat crossed-legged on the stone path curving around the small pond more or less at the center of the garden. It had seen better days, like a hundred more things around the house that needed repairs. He absently pulled at the weeds lining its cracked border, but his mind was far removed from matters of gardening. The shadows of the foliage around him moved gradually as the sun disappeared under the horizon. When a cold breeze began to rustle the leaves, Gakupo got up and walked towards the back door that lead to the kitchen.

At no moment did he notice the dark shape crouched in a corner of the yard, watching him.

Almost three-quarters of an hour later, dinner was ready. Gumi was seated at the table in her green and white checkered pajamas and orange slippers. She was playing with the salt and pepper shakers and swinging her feet, when Gakupo placed a steaming plate in front of her.

"Careful, it's really hot," Gakupo said and sat across her with his own plate.

"Uh-huh." Gumi made the shakers bow to each other before grabbing a spoon. She scooped up a bit of curry and blew over it a couple of times.

"Maybe I should've cooked something softer for you," Gakupo mused with a smile. "Wouldn't want you to get sick again."

"I'm good," Gumi replied and shoved the spoon inside her mouth.

"Glad to hear it." Gakupo added some stir-fried vegetables to his plate. "Did anything interesting happen while I was at school?"

Gumi shrugged. Then, she seemed to reconsider. "Can we change the curtain rod in my room?"

"Why?" Gakupo had placed the curtains himself the day before yesterday, and it seemed in decent condition then.

A small frown formed on Gumi's face as she poked the curry repeatedly. "Don't laugh."

"I won't, I promise."

"The rod is too far from the window, when I lay down on the bed I can see outside, just a bit."

"Oh?" Gakupo tilted his head.

"I don't like it when it's dark, it makes me think someone is outside the window watching me," Gumi explained, a bit red.

Gakupo made a sound of acknowledgement. "It should be easy enough to fix. The curtains themselves are fine, right?" His sister nodded, already looking relieved. "I'll take care of it."

Gumi pushed the chunks of minced meat and rice on her plate with the spoon, perhaps trying to form a figure of some kind. It was the type of behavior that made their aunt mad, but Gakupo decided to let her eat at her own pace.

"You know, one of my classmates used to live on this street. I don't suppose you remember Luka?"

The green-haired girl shook her head.

"I thought as much." Gakupo drank from his glass of juice. "If you see a girl with long pink hair tomorrow, say hello."

"Is she pretty?"

"Very." Gakupo grinned. "She's a bit of a grouch, though."

"We're not at Auntie's place anymore, you can say bi-" Gumi started to say.

"We're not calling her that!" Gakupo cut her off. "Don't go around saying words like that at school or they'll call our family."

"Fine!" His sister replied somewhat petulantly.

"I don't like to boss you around. I just want us to have as little to do with the two of them as possible. You understand that, right? We shouldn't give the teachers any reason to pay too much attention to us."

The girl seemed somewhat mollified, as she took another bite of rice. She nodded as she chewed. Gakupo smiled affectionately. Perhaps in other circumstances they wouldn't have been as close, given their contrasting personalities, but reality being what it was, there wasn't anyone he trusted more than the tomboyish little girl across the table.

* * *

At some point during the night, Gakupo was roused by the creaking of the bedroom door. The light of the corridor hit his face, poking at his eyelids. With supreme effort, he managed to crack open one eye.

A silhouette stood by his door; an almost featureless blob of pure darkness framed by the creamy wallpaper behind it. His visitor stayed still and silent, just staring as Gakupo pushed his purple hair out of his face.

"What are you doing?" Gakupo mumbled. His mouth felt very dry, so his tired gaze wandered over to the nightstand, looking for a glass of water. There was none, but the alarm clock helpfully informed him that it was a little after three in the morning. He rubbed his face, groaning. "Gumi, go back to bed, please!"

The silhouette moved, but it went right towards the kitchen and living area, instead of going left, back to Gumi's room. Gakupo rolled back onto his back, letting his eyes close. _I should go see if she needs anything_ , he thought groggily. _In a minute..._

* * *

The next morning, the alarm clock pulled Gakupo out of a weird dream about living with Luka in a flooded city. He sat up wiping the sleep from his eyes, genuinely confused at his surroundings for a minute. Admittedly, this room and house didn't register as 'his' bedroom and home, at least not yet. And to make matters worse, his head felt oddly swollen, as if his skin was too tight for his skull. He kicked the covers away and stood up, grabbing his forehead with a groan as his headache worsened. It now made Gakupo feel like someone had crept up to him while he slept and jabbed heated iron needles into his eyes.

Still, the only thing to do was to see if the bathroom was unoccupied. He had to make breakfast for Gumi and him and get ready for school. He barely processed that his bedroom door was already wide open, despite closing it the night before. He just crossed the threshold rubbing his eyes and turned left.

There were no sounds coming from the bathroom. Gakupo tried calling for his sister, and when there was no reply, he peeked inside. Empty, aside from a small pile of discarded clothes in one corner. He grabbed some painkillers from the cabinet and swallowed them with a gulp of tap water.

Once he exited the bathroom, he realized Gumi's bedroom door was wide open. He morosely approached it and entered after calling her name. Empty as well. He was about to turn and go to the kitchen when something caught his eye. Gumi had actually taped the curtain to the wall with many long strips of brown packing tape placed in a haphazard manner. Gakupo walked closer, blinking with disbelief. He scratched at the end of a strip with a nail and the glue on it left a small stain on the wall. _I guess I'll go to the hardware store this afternoon, before Gumi decides to brick up the window._

Massaging his temples, Gakupo returned to the corridor and headed for the kitchen. Maybe Gumi was waiting there for him, although the house seemed altogether too quiet. He reached the end of the corridor and, as he expected, he found the living room and adjoined kitchen to be completely empty. Gumi's lunch bag was on the counter. The cartoon carrots gracing the fabric seemed to grin insultingly at Gakupo.

Was she really in that much of a hurry to go to school? _No, not the Gumi I know_. His throat began to tighten. With a brisk pace, Gakupo returned to his room and searched for his mobile. It was inside of his school bag, almost out of charge. He ignored the battery sign and called Gumi's number.

A happy synth tune reached his ears. Almost immediately he found the crummy old cell on her nightstand. He cursed and sat on her bed, grabbing his head with his free hand. Where is she? It was completely against her character to leave the house so early in the morning without warning.

 _I have to run outside and take a look… Or more accurately, shamble out_. His whole head felt as if it was a kettle full of boiling water. But he tried to push the sensation aside, to suppress it as best as he could. He needed to find his sister.

The wood planks of the corridor creaked. Gakupo lifted his head in surprise and his vision swam for an instant. When his eyes focused once more, he saw that Gumi was standing in the doorway, looking at him serenely. She was wearing an overly large white dress, one that Gakupo didn't recall her having in the first place. Both her hair and dress were damp.

"Where were you?!" He'd been so certain she wasn't inside the house, just seconds ago. Was she playing in the garden pond? Why?

Gumi didn't reply. Instead, she approached him and placed a cold hand on his forehead. Like her hair, it was slightly wet and her knuckles were covered with mud. You've got a fever."

Gakupo pushed the hand away. "I'm fine." If anything, Gumi was too cold. "Where were you?" He repeated the question, stressing each word.

Gumi stared at him. "Where…?" Her eyes seemed to lose focus, and she abruptly turned her head towards the window, the way someone would when hearing their name. Gakupo turned to look as well, but there was nothing there to see.

"I had a dream. You came to my window and said we were going to the other house," she said dragging each sound.

"What other house? You mean back south?"

Gumi shook her head. "In the other place. I followed your voice past the fog, but you weren't you, so I ran back."

 _You weren't you…_ Gakupo bit his lip, as his mind made an undesirable connection. It couldn't be, could it? Reluctantly, he asked, "That other me…Did he look older?"

Gumi nodded.

For a second, Gakupo felt a sensation of intense unreality. But before he knew it, he found himself saying, "Get ready for school. I'll go get changed." The idea of going to a place full of people sounded very appealing. "Don't go anywhere, ok? Stay in your room and change."

"Okay."

In fact, the sooner they went outside, the better. "Tell you what, let's get breakfast at the burger joint by the bus station. It should be open by the time we get there." Gumi seemed to like that idea, her eyes gradually losing that disoriented look. She smiled. That was enough for Gakupo to feel some relief, despite the headache. He rushed off towards his room as fast as his body allowed, while Gumi grabbed a towel and began to rub her head.

* * *

"You don't need to come with me," Gumi complained. She and her brother were walking down the hallway that lead to 6th and 7th grade classrooms. "You're going to be late!" After copious amounts of junk food, she seemed completely back to normal.

"I want to talk to your teacher," Gakupo replied. Curiously enough, his headache had also somewhat benefited from the unhealthy meal.

"What for?" Gumi pouted.

"I just want to introduce myself. It won't take more than a minute."

"I'd certainly like that," a feminine voice remarked from behind them. Brother and sister turned to find a blonde woman standing a few steps away. She smiled politely and adjusted the pile of books in her hands.

"You're Miss Ann?" _She kinda looks one like those old timey pin-up girls_ , Gakupo thought. _Pretty young for a teacher, too._

"That's me." Her smile widened. "And you're Gumi and…"

"I'm her brother, Gakupo."

"Well, Gakupo, I hope you enjoy your time here with us." The chime signaling the start of classes rang. "Ah, you need to go to your classroom. Senior year, right?"

"Yeah, but I need to ask you something first." Gakupo said quickly.

Ann raised her eyebrows, caught by surprise for a moment. But then she smiled again and said, "Sure. Gumi, why don't you go ahead?"

The green-haired girl eyed her brother, but quickly decided to follow orders. A couple more late arrivals rushed by, then the hallway was deserted aside from the teacher and Gakupo.

"I'm all ears," Ann said jovially.

Gakupo considered for a moment what to say. Perhaps he was getting carried away by a series of incredible coincidences. But then again, it was better to be prepared even for something unlikely than to suffer the consequences. If there truly was something out there usurping his appearance, then he had protect his sister from it. That thought gave him enough inspiration to start saying, "Gumi and I, we live on our own."

Ann shot him a compassionate look. "I'm aware of your situation."

Gakupo lowered his gaze. It didn't feel right to lie to this woman, but he soldiered on. "Thing is, we have this uncle, he's...He's not a good person. The court said he's not supposed to contact us, but he's staying somewhere in the city, and I'm worried that he might try to take Gumi away by force. Could you, I don't know, keep an eye out? If you see him creeping around the school..." He trailed off. Actually, what could she do? What could anyone do?

A lightly-scented hand rested on his shoulder. "I understand. What does he look like?"

"People say he looks a lot like me, with longer hair. But he's around thirty, I think." A moment later, Gakupo wondered if it was odd for him not to know his supposed uncle's age.

He looked at the young teacher; there was nothing in Ann's demeanor to suggest she doubted his story. "I'll make sure the other teachers take precautions as well." Ann balanced the pile of books on one arm to pull a small notepad and pen from her pocket. As she wrote on the notepad, she continued, "I'd like you to come see me after classes at the staffroom to discuss this further, whenever you have the chance. But now you need to go to class. Give this to your teacher." She tore the sheet of paper off and handed it to Gakupo. "I'm taking responsibility for your lateness, you see."

Gakupo accepted the note and gave it a quick look. "Thank you. I guess I should be going now."

"Yes, you should. But don't run in the halls." The smile returned to her face. "I'll take care of Gumi, don't worry." As the young man started to walk away, she added, "It was nice meeting you."

"You too, Miss Ann."

* * *

As Gakupo was expecting, the class was well underway when he finally reached his classroom at the other end of the school grounds. The teacher, Mister Macne, didn't look particularly happy to see him, but accepted Ann's note and ordered him to go to his seat without scolding him.

Luka had her eyes on her notes, in a very obvious attempt to avoid his gaze as Gakupo moved through the classroom. I guess she's still mad at me, he thought. Truth be told, Gakupo was beginning to wonder if she would be his ally or not. If she was so set upon rejecting any explanation that wasn't mundane, would she even listen to him?

 _You know what? It's fine. I can take care of Gumi and myself._

The class passed by as boring as ever. Gakupo took notes mechanically, without paying too much attention. He still felt a bit under the weather, but as long as he didn't stare directly at any bright lights it was manageable.

The clock on the wall barely made any sound. Only during the pauses when the teacher was writing something on the blackboard could he hear the faint ticking. It almost made it seem like time wasn't passing at all. The pages of his notebook made such a noisy rustle in comparison.

Dates and names, treaties and battles, they all rained on him, without claiming permanent habitation inside his head. Finally, the chime sounded again, signaling the morning break. Macne left with his usual sour expression firmly in place and classmates here and there sprung from their seats. Gakupo stood up and went towards the windows, passing in front of Luka's desk. The girl had produced her cell and was presumably looking at her messages. They ignored each other.

Gakupo pushed open the window closest to his row of desks and leaned on the sill. His eyes wondered downwards, examining the gardens below and the street beyond the school. There weren't too many people around, aside from an old woman standing in front of the school gates, incongruously holding a pink umbrella above her pure white hair. Gakupo closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the fresh air.

"Don't look now, but Luka is trying to incinerate you with her eyes," said a voice nearby. Gakupo opened one eye and turned slightly to his right. The boy that sat at the desk next to his was standing there, smiling slightly. "You've been here for a day, man. Already in her black list? That has to be a record."

Gakupo straightened up. "I didn't mean to offend her."

The boy patted his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. There are several girls here that are way easier to handle." He not so subtly motioned towards a group that was chatting near the back of the classroom. "I've been thinking of asking out the one with short hair. Choose another one and go."

The girls noticed their gazes and giggled. Given the gleam in their eyes, some were definitely receptive to advances, Gakupo noted. Too bad that dating wasn't foremost in his mind, given the recent events. He turned back towards the boy next to him. "I think I'd rather get used to this city first."

"Hey, suit yourself," the boy said without losing his friendly smile.

Gakupo leaned one forearm on the sill, facing away from the girls. His gaze once more turned towards the street outside. The old woman was still standing there, now staring upwards.

Directly at him.

Once their eyes met, the old woman smiled warmly. Her lips moved silently and she reached to grasp a pendant hanging from her chest. Gakupo had the distinct impression she was either praying or reciting something, although no words reached him. Once she was done, she calmly walked away.

"That your granny?" The boy leaned next to Gakupo.

"Never seen her before. Maybe she mistook me for someone else." They both watched the woman take a turn right and disappear down an alley.

The boy stretched out like a cat. "I'm going to grab a drink. Coming?"

"Sure. Your name's Kaito, right?"

"Yup," Kaito grinned. "Let's go."

* * *

More classes came and went. Lunchtime arrived. Gakupo was about to ask Kaito if he could eat with his group of friends when Luka seemed to magically materialize next to his desk. She stared down at him, arms crossed and legs somewhat apart, looking more like a judge about to pass sentence than a high school girl.

"Hello there," Gakupo greeted her amicably. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"We need to talk," Luka replied. "Did you pack a lunch?

"Not today. Had to leave home in a hurry. Wanna guess why?" Although it wasn't a laughing matter at all, he couldn't help but smile a little.

Luka raised one eyebrow, but ignored the question. "Let's go buy something."

"Sure, why not?"

Luka immediately pivoted and marched towards the door, so Gakupo hurriedly got up and followed her. Before leaving the classroom, he glanced back towards Kaito. The boy twisted his face in a grimace that was probably meant to imitate Luka's severe expression. Gakupo shook his head, suppressing a laugh.

Luka remained silent as they descended to the ground floor. Instead of heading towards the cafeteria, she unexpectedly went towards the front gates of the school.

"Are we allowed to go outside at lunch?" Gakupo asked, surprised.

"No," Luka replied flatly.

A moment later, Gakupo realized there were some carts just outside the gates, and even some people unloading plastic containers from a car. Other students were coming closer.

"They have a better selection here," Luka explained, her voice slightly more animated. She approached the gate and quickly obtained two lunches packed in disposable containers. "My treat."

"Ah, thanks." Gakupo received the paper bag. "Is this common around here?" He examined the contents, finding it even had a plastic fork and napkin tucked inside.

"I believe so," Luka replied. From another seller, she obtained two colorful bottles. "Of course you can get sodas or juice from the cafeteria, but since we were already here..." She set out walking at an even brisker pace than before. Judging by the direction she was heading towards, Gakupo assumed she wanted to go around the main building and sit under the trees in the back.

Once they reached a sufficiently secluded spot behind some bushes, Luka knelt down and placed her bag on the ground. Gakupo sat cross-legged in front of her and waited. Luka rested her hands on her thighs and took in a big breath with eyes closed, as if preparing to dive into a pool. A moment later she released the air slowly, and met Gakupo's curious gaze with a determined look. "First off, I'm sorry I yelled at you."

Gakupo waved a hand in dismissal. "You were upset. All you wanted was a mundane explanation and here comes this idiot blabbing about ghosts?"

Luka's lips moved infinitesimally towards a smile.

"I do take this seriously, especially after this morning." Gakupo opened the disposable container and uncovered his lunch. Not bad looking at all. "It's like I said, I think it's better to consider all possibilities when facing something unknown. Even the silly ones."

Luka began unpacking her meal as well. "I guess I have no choice. The more  
I think about what happened, the harder it gets to explain it all away." She uncorked the cap of the colorful bottle, but paused with the bottle halfway towards her mouth. "Wait. What do you mean, after this morning?"

Gakupo told her about Gumi's absence and reappearance as he ate. Luka did more staring than munching, but that was to be expected. Despite her attempts to remain stoic, her eyes widened when he described Gumi following an older version of him away from the house.

"She saw him," Luka said quietly. "She saw him too." Was there a drop of relief in her tone?

"So it seems." Gakupo pointed to her food with his fork. "Get eating or you won't have enough time."

"You seem awfully calm about this guy targeting your sister," Luka said bemusedly and sank her fork into her food.

Gakupo shook his head. "Because I need to be. I can't help her if I'm panicking."

"I suppose you're right."

"It's like a bout, you see? You have to keep a cool head if you want to outthink your opponent."

"Bout?" Luka frowned.

"Like a fencing match," Gakupo clarified. All too late, he realized that fencing analogies wouldn't be helpful with his current audience. "You get what I'm saying, right?"

"More or less, yes. Easier said than done, though."

"Sure. But I have to try. We have to try, Luka. We're in this together now."

Luka's features relaxed somewhat, settling into a more hopeful expression.

Encouraged by her reaction, Gakupo continued. "I'm going to get some answers for you, I promise."

Luka let out a slight chuckle, evading his gaze. "And how are you going to manage that?"

"Well, for starters, I'd like to speak with your friend. Miki, was it? Maybe she saw something that can help us."

"I can send her a message and see if we can visit her after school," Luka pulled out her phone from her uniform jacket. "I don't know how useful that will be. I think she banged her head when she fell, she doesn't remember the clinic too clearly."

"Talking with us might spark her memory."

"Worth a try, I guess." Luka typed into her cell. "I don't want to wake her if she's resting-" The phone dinged. "Nevermind, she's awake… She's okay with us visiting her after class."

"Mind if Gumi tags along? I don't want her walking home on her own."

"I don't mind." Luka took a sip of her drink and furrowed her brow slightly. "It's not going to be easy to keep her under watch all the time."

"You have no idea how right you are," Gakupo grumbled. "It's alright when she wants me to pay attention to her, but the moment she's had enough, then I'm being coddling and annoying."

Luka smiled and said nothing.

Gakupo watched her for a moment, then smiled as well, lowering his eyes. He suddenly felt very grateful that of all people from his past, Luka had been the one to reappear in his life. Even if the circumstances of their reunion were unusual.

* * *

"There's Gumi. I'll tell her to wait for us after class."

Lunchtime was about to end, but Luka and Gakupo took a detour on the way back to their classroom in order to find his little sister. After some searching, they found her sitting on a bench by the multipurpose court with a pretty girl with long aqua twintails. They seemed to be having such a pleasant conversation that it was almost a pity to interrupt them. Still, Gakupo approached them waving his hand. Luka stayed a few steps away, not really eager to engage the girls in conversation. It always felt slightly weird to talk to kids so much younger than herself.

"Remember how I said one of my classmates used to be our neighbor? Well, here she is." Gakupo turned around to make the introductions, only to realize Luka wasn't standing by his side. "Oh."

"That's the grouchy girl?" Gumi asked in a whisper, loud enough for Luka to hear.

Gakupo made a face, then shot an apologetic look in Luka's direction. His classmate shrugged. It was hardly the first time someone had commented on her personality in unflattering terms, and as far as descriptors went, 'grouchy' was a very innocuous choice. In fact, the word helped Luka feel more at ease. Sometimes other girls seemed surprised to find that she wasn't going to join them in gushy squeeing over the latest fashionable thing or artist. It was good that Gumi already knew what to expect from her.

"I'm Gakupo, and this is Luka Megurine," Gakupo said looking at the girl with the twintails. "And you are?"

"My name is Miku Hatsune," the girl said timidly. She probably wasn't used to senior students talking to her, Luka reasoned. Or maybe she found the specific senior student in front of her distracting.

"Nice to meet you, Miku. Before you ask, yes, Gumi has always been this way." Gumi stuck her tongue out at Gakupo, and he tousled her hair roughly, chuckling at her squealing. Miku just watched the spectacle with big eyes and red cheeks.

For her part, Luka shook her head, forcing her face to stay in a neutral expression. "Are you done bullying your sister? We need to go upstairs soon."

Gakupo stopped his movements, which gave Gumi the opportunity to pull at his hair. "Ow! Right, right. Gumi, I need you to wait for us after class in the entrance hall, ok?"

Gumi made a face. "Miku invited me over!"

"And you were planning to let me know that when?" Gakupo pulled back, suddenly serious.

"I was going to call you," Gumi said reluctantly. "I just… I don't want to spend the afternoon at home."

Gakupo glanced at Luka with pursed lips. She gave a little tilt of her head. I can't really blame her. Luka's bedroom was much less welcoming since it had been breached by whoever or whatever was haunting them. He scratched the side of his head for a couple of seconds, thinking.

"Miku, if you don't mind me asking, do you walk home on your own?"

"No, Miss Sachiko comes to pick me up," Miku replied. "Um, she can also drive Gumi home tonight."

"Pleasepleaseplease! Can I go?"

Gakupo nodded. "Call me if anything out of the ordinary happens, ok? I'll get there as soon as I can. And make sure-" He briefly eyed Miku, who was looking at him innocently, then continued, "Don't trust strangers, make sure it's me if someone comes knocking."

Gumi grinned in relief. "Yeah!"

Gakupo again tousled her hair, this time more gently. "Have fun, you gremlin. I'm going to visit one of Luka's friends, then I'll stop by the hardware shop if I have the time." At that moment, the chime signaling the end of lunchtime sounded. "Ah, time to go. Remember, any weirdness, anything at all, just call me!" The young man began to walk away with Luka at his side.

"I will!" Gumi shouted, as she and Miku ran towards the smaller building dedicated to the younger kids and were quickly swallowed by the mass of students heading inside.

"Your sister found a friend pretty quickly," Luka commented, hastening her pace.

"Can't say I'm surprised, she's always been good at making friends," Gakupo replied, easily matching her speed with his longer strides. "But it's pretty convenient."

"How so?"

"Well, I'm just going by the fact that Miku's family employs someone to drive her around, but it sounds like she's loaded." Gakupo smiled without humor. "A wealthy family must have cameras, guards, a nice tall fence…Then again, who knows if any of that will make a difference."

"She'll be safe," Luka said and squeezed his hand. "Besides, we're on the case, aren't we?"

Gakupo slowed down and stopped, which naturally made Luka stop as well. He examined her resolute gaze, then lowered his gaze to their interlocked hands. His expression brightened. "Yes, we are."


	4. Home

Chapter 4 - Home

* * *

As promised, Luka and Gakupo took the subway to visit Miki once classes were over. Her gated apartment complex was located in a busy thoroughfare, only a few minutes away from Lorentz Station. Luka had visited her a couple of times already, when her friend needed help studying for a particularly difficult test, so the guard at the front gate buzzed her and Gakupo in with a jovial greeting.

Once inside the high-ceiling lobby, Luka called the elevator while Gakupo approached the sliding door at the back. Gakupo gave the lush gardens and pool past the glass an appreciate look. "Very fancy," he commented.

"Fancy or not, I prefer houses to be honest," Luka replied, her eyes fixed on the elevator display.

"I don't know, I might enjoy having more people around these days. Sounds safer."

Luka smiled humorlessly. "Or maybe more people around just means more strangers that won't help us." The elevator dinged and the doors opened. "Come on."

One short elevator ride later, the pair arrived at the ninth floor. The door at the far right of the warmly lit corridor was open; a short-haired woman stood just outside the door frame. Behind her, Luka could see the familiar sight of the Furukawa's living room bathed in natural light.

Truth be told, Luka hadn't been eager to run into Miki's mom. After all, the girl had been injured while they were together. The woman might have a question or two regarding the supposed accident. But thankfully, Ms. Furukawa's expression was relaxed and friendly. After the introductions, the woman exclaimed, "Thank you for coming! I'm sure Miki will be happy to see you!"

"How is she doing?"

"Could be better. But at least she has books and homework to entertain herself," the woman replied, demonstrating a view of her offspring that Luka couldn't help but think was rather optimistic. "But come in, you know where Miki's room is. I'll bring you something to eat in a moment." She ignored Luka's feeble attempts to refuse the refreshments and marched into the kitchen space to the right.

"Prepared to be fed," Luka whispered. "And be fed some more." She sighed.

"I'll eat yours if you don't want it," Gakupo grinned.

"Are you one of those guys that eats like a pig and never gets fat?" Luka asked with bemusement as she headed left and into a narrow corridor.

Gakupo placed one hand on top of his head then raised it swiftly. "I'm still growing."

"Uh-huh," Luka muttered with skepticism. She came to a stop in front of a door decorated with a white and blue wooden star that proclaimed it to be Miki's bedroom. Luka knocked lightly. "Miki, it's me, Luka. Can we come in?"

From inside came a soft murmur. It was clearly Miki's voice, but Luka felt a slight tingling of worry. It was very unlike her friend to sound so weak and distracted. She immediately turned the doorknob and opened the door.

Miki was sitting up in her bed with her back propped against a huge star-shaped pillow. Her legs were covered by a colorful blanket, but Luka could see a leg brace sticking out from under it. Many sheets of paper covered in scribblings and drawings rested over the blanket and the quilt of the bed. The floor was littered by even more papers, most crumpled into balls. The girl had a sketch pad on her lap and was vigorously rubbing an oil pastel stick on the top sheet. "I almost have it," she whispered without looking up.

"Have what?" Luka moved closer and glanced at the sketch pad. Miki wasn't much of a visual artist, but it was easy enough to discern what the drawing depicted: a grey, headless humanoid figure surrounded by black four-legged shapes almost devoid of any detail. There were similar sketches in some of the pages strewn throughout the room, Luka realized, although some were crossed out and scribbled over.

"Excuse me," Gakupo muttered and grabbed a page resting next to Miki's knee to examine it more closely. At the sound of his voice, the girl finally snapped back to reality and looked up in surprise.

"This is the classmate I told you about, Miki." Luka touched the redhead's shoulder. "His name is Gakupo Kamui."

"…Have we met before?" Miki asked, studying his face with a slightly puzzled look.

"I don't think so. I've been back in this city for less than a week, and most of the time I've been either at school or at home." Gakupo gave Luka a brief look and added, "Maybe you've seen an older man that looks like me?"

Miki considered this, then shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Oh?"

"Can you sing for a bit?" Miki requested. "Something soft, like a lullaby."

Gakupo looked as surprised as Luka felt at the request, but after a moment he shrugged and began humming a tune.

Miki's face turned a shade paler. "Softer, so I can barely hear it," she muttered.

Gakupo closed his eyes and sang an even quieter melody. Luka leaned in closer, examining Miki's face. Her friend's eyes didn't seem to see her or any of the bright details of the room. Miki was far away, facing something Luka couldn't begin to fathom.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Miki suddenly screamed and threw away the pad and pastel stick. She covered her ears with her hands and sobbed, rocking back and forth.

Gakupo took a step back and immediately apologized in his regular tone. From his expression, Luka could tell he wasn't prepared for Miki's reaction. Neither was Luka, for that matter. She patted the younger girl's head in silence.

Ms. Furukawa's chose that moment to open the door, balancing a tray filled to the brim with food on one hand. She took in the messy room and her offspring's tears with one look. "Miki? What's wrong?"

Miki rubbed her eyes and bit her lip. Then, she rubbed her leg and bruised ribs. "It hurts, mom!"

Ms. Furukawa sighed with a mix of relief and impatience. "Of course it does, honey. It's supposed to. But your friends didn't come to see you complain, did they?" She moved towards a small table to the right of the bed and put down the tray. "You keep taking the pills the doctor gave you and everything will be fine. Here." She handed Miki a thick slice of cake and a fork.

Miki grunted an acknowledgment and morosely accepted the plate.

"You two, grab anything you want," Ms. Furukawa said to Gakupo and Luka. The rose-haired girl approached the table with trepidation. She could almost feel her blood sugar level raising just by looking at the food and drink on the tray. On the contrary, Gakupo stepped forward and in two seconds was attacking a cake slice of his own.

"This is great, Ms. Furukawa! Did you make this yourself?" He flashed a suspiciously charming smile at the woman.

"Oh, I bought some things, but I put everything together," the woman replied, looking a bit too flattered for Luka's taste.

"You don't mind if I take some of this back to my sister? It's been so long since we had anything as nice as this to eat!"

Ms. Furukawa blinked. "…Is that so?" She looked at the tray, then studied Gakupo's thin frame carefully. "How about if I put together a little package for the two of you?"

"Ah, I don't want to bother you too much-"

"It's no bother, I always make too much food anyway," the woman said happily. She began to open the door but then paused and asked, "Any favorite foods?"

"She likes carrot cake."

Ms. Furukawa absorbed the information and nodded purposely before exiting the room.

Once her footsteps faded, Luka gave Gakupo her most acerbic look. "What was that?"

Gakupo shrugged, smiling unabashedly. "She's not going to interrupt us for a while."

"And you get to mooch off food from Miki's mom?"

Gakupo's smile only widened. "You try surviving a month with the money my family gave us, then we talk." Luka frowned, realizing she hadn't bothered to ask in that much detail about his living situation. All she knew is that the pair lived alone at their old home. Her apprehension must've shown in her face, because Gakupo patted her shoulder and said gently, "It's not big deal, I'll just need to get creative." He turned in an almost dance-like manner towards Miki, who was chewing her cake and staring at him a bit fixedly. "Speaking of 'what was that,' may I ask the same to you?"

Miki suddenly became very interested in a maraschino cherry on her plate. "I don't know."

Gakupo lifted an eyebrow, unconvinced. He glanced at Luka, gesturing with his chin towards the younger girl.

"Miki, it's alright. We're trying to figure out what's going on." Luka sat next to her friend on the bed. "We aren't going to laugh at you, no matter what you say."

Miki ate the cherry, then pushed the last crumbs of cake on the plate with the fork, her brow furrowed. Finally, she looked at Luka. "He sang to me."

"Who?"

"At the clinic," Miki started saying with a trembling voice. "After you went to get help, everything hurt so much that I blacked out. But then… Then I felt someone right next to me, in the darkness. They weren't saying anything, but I could feel their breath," Miki touched the skin next to her earlobe. "Right here. I was so scared I couldn't move or even say anything at first, but then I begged them to leave me alone. That's when he began singing. I don't know what happened after that, one moment he was there, the next I was out in the front lawn, alone."

"I forgot all about it until this morning…How could I forget something like that?!" Tears appeared in the corner of her eyes once more.

Luka rested her hand on Miki's head, trying to keep calm. What could this mean? There was no way that the man in the grey suit had time to go inside the hospital, find Miki and carry her outside in the span of time Luka was on the staircase. Was it someone else? And what was the connection between the man and the noises inside the clinic?

"So, you didn't actually see this person?" Gakupo inquired, tilting his head slightly. Miki nodded. "What about the drawings, what's that all about?"

"It's the dream I had last night. It made me remember." Miki poked one of the drawings with a finger, leaving a crinkle on the page. "He was outside my window, whispering, telling me something about his...beasts. It's like he was standing in midair, I could see him from here," she traced a line across her neck, "to here," followed by another imaginary line across her knees. "I could see a bit of the moon behind him."

"He was here?" Gakupo pointed to the window next to the bed. He leaned on the sill and watched the landscape outside, almost as if he expected to see his doppelgänger floating there in plain sight. He slid the glass pane open and poked his head out. "No ledge to stand on," he noted.

Luka rolled her eyes. "Ninth floor, remember? Ledge or not, I don't think it makes a difference."

Gakupo shrugged. "Miki, do you know who lives upstairs?"

The girl blinked. After a moment, she shook her head.

"Don't tell me you think her neighbors decided to rappel down the side of the building in the middle of the night to mess with her," Luka said, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"If the guy wasn't standing on something, or hanging from something, he was floating some 30 metres above the ground. You like that one better?"

"Or she was dreaming, just like she said."

Gakupo sat on the swivel chair in front of Miki's desk and turned to face them. "Did it feel like a dream?" He leaned forward and stared intensely at Miki.

The girl chewed on a fingernail. Instead of replying, she asked, "Why do you want it to be real?"

Gakupo huffed. "Luka, did you tell her what happened this morning?"

Miki turned around to look at Luka as well, wide-eyed. "What is he talking about?" Luka just let out a small sigh.

"Have you told her anything at all? No? I think we should. She's just as involved in this as the rest of us."

 _I really wish he was wrong about that_ , Luka thought grimacing. "Fine. Miki, listen…"

* * *

The shadows across the pavement grew longer and longer as Gakupo and Luka walked down Canopus Circle, towards her home. The homes and low buildings on the other side of the street kept the sun hidden from view, but the temperature was still mild and the slight breeze felt pleasant.

Gakupo was carrying two big bags full of food, courtesy of the Furukawa family. Even now, Luka couldn't help but feel a bit of secondhand embarrassment whenever she looked at them. But he seem pretty satisfied with the results of the visit.

"I think I might have to leave the hardware store for tomorrow. It's getting kinda late," he commented as they waited by a busy intersection.

"You didn't need to walk me home."

"I wanted to," Gakupo replied with a smile. "I like being with you."

Luka looked away, feeling strangely self-conscious. She struggled to find something innocuous to say. "Did Gumi tell you at what time they were going to drop her off?" Mentally, she chastised herself for asking such a stupid question. She had been right there at lunch break when Gakupo and Gumi were talking, after all. She knew the answer already.

Gakupo didn't particularly mind, however. "No idea, but she'll probably text me. Actually, she might've already sent me something, I think I left my phone in silent mode. Can you hold this for a sec? Thanks." He fished out the phone from his pocket and immediately raised an eyebrow. "Huh, I have a ton of notifications. Maybe I shouldn't have left that comment-" He swiped the screen with his thumb and his expression changed. He gave Luka a perplexed glance. "When did you send these?"

"What?" Luka leaned closer and Gakupo silently tilted the screen so she could see.

The screen read:

HE FOUND THE CENTER OF THE LABYRINTH.

DON'T FOLLOW HIM PAST THE LIBRARY.

I'LL KEEP YOU SAFE.

NO MATTER WHO OR WHERE YOU ARE, I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU.

The lines had been sent as four separate text messages from her phone number, a little over an hour ago. Luka patted her school blazer, almost expecting her mobile to be missing, but she felt the hard shape just where it was supposed to be, inside her left pocket. "I didn't send you that. We were in the same damned room at the time," Luka said.

"No kidding. Maybe someone spoofed your phone number?" Gakupo tilted his head, and Luka could tell from his expression that he didn't believe it was a simple prank. To be honest, she didn't either. The timing was too fortuitous.

"He found the center of the labyrinth," she read out loud. For a brief second, Luka pictured the dilapidated hallways of the clinic, and how lost she had felt while she ran in the darkness. Was that the labyrinth? Was the message referring to the man in the grey suit? What did it mean?

"At least whoever sent me this doesn't seem hostile," Gakupo mused. "Actually, I seem to have an admirer." He chuckled lightly.

"There's nothing funny about this!" Luka scolded him. A few people walking nearby them eyed her in passing, surprised by her loud tone.

Gakupo's smile faded. "I know it looks like I'm not taking things seriously again, it's a bad habit." He placed the phone back in his pocket. "When I get home, I'll check online if there's a way to find out who really sent these, alright?" His free hand caressed Luka's cheek. "I didn't mean to make you angry."

"It's...It's fine." Luka felt herself blushing. Part of her wanted to step back and perhaps hit Gakupo over the head with the bag of goodies. But his fingers felt so comforting that another part of her wanted to see what would happen next.

Before she could made up her mind, Gakupo's face came closer to hers and-

A businessman pushed past Gakupo, angrily shouting at them for standing in the way of the crosswalk. The shove made Gakupo stumble forward and he ended up painfully bumping heads with Luka. The pair yelped in unison, causing someone nearby to break into laughter.

Luka looked around rubbing her forehead. To her immense annoyance, she saw one of her classmates standing a few paces away, filming them with his phone. The blonde boy gave them a toothy grin and ran way before Luka and Gakupo could stop him.

"What the-?" Gakupo began saying, but Luka just pulled at his arm and forced him to cross the street.

"Let's just get to my place already. We can deal with Yohio tomorrow at school."

"It wasn't _that_ funny," Gakupo complained, holding his head.

"Preaching to the choir," Luka replied. She spied the businessman power-walking in the distance, and felt an inordinate desire to toss a shoe at him for interrupting them.

 _For interrupting us? That means I wanted..._

After squashing that train of thought, Luka made an effort to act natural while avoiding Gakupo's gaze for the rest of the walk. But try as she might, she couldn't help but view her own impulses with a critical eye. Even if she liked him, it wasn't the time. She had to keep the both of them focused!

Finally, they reached the stone steps of her home. Luka turned to face him, swallowing her uncertainties. "Here," she said evenly and handed him the bag of food.

"Ah, right. Thanks." Gakupo accepted it, but then immediately placed both bags on the ground, leaning against the steps.

"What are you doing?"

"I was thinking, you know," he started in a quiet tone. "If Yohio and his friends are going to tease us about it, well, we might as well finish what we started…" He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "If you want to, that is."

"Ah," Luka said incongruously. It was lousy timing, she meant to say. She also wanted to explain how silly it was to be thinking about that sort of thing with the problems they were facing. If nothing else, she needed time to understand the odd feelings Gakupo sparked in her. It was too soon after his return to her life. She opened her mouth to say as much.

"Yes," her voice said. And then her hands decided to pull him towards her, and her lips kissed his.

A moment later, her traitorous body finally decided to cooperate with her and Luka escaped up the steps, her face red as the sky. Gakupo waved goodbye from the sidewalk in a happy daze. His eyes were glowing, as if the last rays of the setting sun were seeking refuge inside of him.

Luka closed the door, then leaned on the dark wood, breathing heavily. Fortunately, her mother wasn't around to ask questions she couldn't answer.

"Yes," she muttered to the empty home. "I said yes."

* * *

Gakupo hummed a bright little tune as he set the dinner table. He hadn't bothered to make too much of an effort the last couple days, since it was just the two of them. But a more formal display seemed appropriate for the feast they were about to enjoy.

Soon, everything was ready. Gumi and Sachiko were still fifteen minutes or so away, so Gakupo went into his room and sat on his bed. He pulled out his phone and briefly examined the mysterious messages once more. But his mind and eyes kept focusing on Luka's profile picture instead. He laid down and stared at the ceiling with a smile firmly in place, considering the possibilities. He was expecting a lot from the move to his childhood home, and yet life had surprised him with more than he'd ever dared to wish. In a sense, his reunion with Luka was even more extraordinary than any supernatural impostors.

But why was he wasting time like this? He promised Luka to find out where the messages came from, after all. Gakupo put aside his idle (and rose-tinted) thoughts, and searched information about spoofed text messages on his phone browser. Though he was far from an expert in that sort of dealings, it sounded like a fairly easy thing to do via computer software. Unfortunately, finding out who had done it was another matter entirely. One possibility mentioned in a tech forum was to contact his phone provider; the problem was, of course, that his phone was actually in his grandfather's name, and Gakupo felt no desire to try to explain their situation to the severe old man. Maybe there was some other way…

Suddenly, a car horn broke the silence. Gumi was here. Gakupo went to the front door, wondering if his sister had forgotten her keys again.

When he opened the door, he saw Gumi crossing the narrow garden at the front of the property, illuminated by the lights of a car so impressive that it looked like something out of a movie. Gakupo spied a woman with a dark ponytail behind the wheel, presumably Sachiko. A moment later, he noticed that his sister was carrying a posh-looking cardboard box from a bakery from downtown. Gumi presented him with the box when she reached the doorway, then turned to wave goodbye to the driver. The woman mimicked the gesture with a solemn air and started the engine. Almost instantly, the car disappeared in the night.

"That's a pretty cool car," Gakupo commented. "Don't tell me Miku has a garage full of luxury models."

"I didn't see her garage," Gumi shrugged, utterly uninterested. "I could ask her..."

"That's ok," Gakupo replied with a laugh and marched back inside. He heard Gumi close the door, drop her backpack on the ground and follow him. "Go wash your hands at least, you savage." Despite this, he barely had time to enter the kitchen and place the cardboard box and his phone on the counter when he heard a loud gasp.

"Where did you get all of that?!"

"Remember the girl I went to visit with Luka? Her mom gave me some of her extras."

Gumi crossed the room into the dining area and sat at the table with reverence. "It looks so good!" Her fingers drummed on the table, barely containing her impatience as she stared at the carrot cake waiting on a platter. "Come on, sit down!"

Gakupo shook his head. "The main dish is still in the pot. Wait a sec." He pointed at the cardboard box. "I'm guessing we're saving that one for later? What is it?"

"French stuff."

"Incredibly helpful, thanks."

Gakupo put the box with French Stuff inside the refrigerator and served two plates of pasta with a pinkish seafood sauce. "If you don't want it, just eat some salad or whatever you want from the table. Oh, wolf down the cake if you want, it's not like we're gonna eat like this everyday."

"I'll try the pasta," Gumi said with poise. And she did, biting down delicately as if she expected her food to be laced with ground glass. A moment or two passed, with Gakupo holding back laughter. Finally, Gumi nodded and said, "Not bad." The next spoonfuls were consumed much more quickly and with noticeable relish.

"Glad to hear it." After that reply, the siblings concentrated on eating for a while, but then Gumi began to recount his afternoon with Miku. From what she was describing, the twintails girl preferred relaxing activities that allowed for introspection, like gardening and reading. Accordingly, the afternoon had been far quieter than what Gumi expected or preferred.

"She offered to lend me a book on plants!" Gumi said with the same tone one would describe being offered a free tooth extraction. "Like we don't have enough homework as it is."

"Everything has their own tastes, gremlin," Gakupo replied. "I assume you said 'I appreciate the offer but no thanks', and saved the look of disgust for later."

"Of course." Gumi gave him an eyeroll. "It's not her fault she likes boring stuff."

"I'm blessed to have so magnanimous a sister," Gakupo said dramatically.

Gumi let out a little "Hmph," but refused to take the bait and just helped herself to another slice of carrot cake.

"So, despite the threat of knowledge, did you have a good time?"

Gumi nodded as she made short work of the cake.

"Nice." Gakupo leaned back on his chair. "I had a pretty good day too."

Gumi paused her decimation of the cake for a few seconds and observed him with half-lidded eyes. "Are you going out with the grouchy girl?"

"...No," Gakupo said cautiously.

"She's your type," Gumi pointed at him with her knife.

"Like you would know."

"Is she the super-serious one in class? The one with the perfect homework but she won't let you take a look at it?"

"Ok, you got me. I pick girls based on their academic performance," Gakupo replied, amused.

"You know what I mean! Besides, she has huge bazongas."

Gakupo almost choked at this, and even as he struggled to breathe he kept on laughing for a while. Finally, he managed to ask, "Where in the world did you learn that word?"

"Dunno." Gumi blushed a bit. "It sounds funny, I thought I'd try and use it in conversation."

"Oh, it's funny alright. But it's the kind of word one only uses in select company."

Gumi tilted her head, as if she was unsure she understood why he was laughing so hard. More than the word itself, the amusing part was his sister acting like it was the most natural thing on the world to comment on Luka's breasts using it. But Gakupo didn't bother to explain this and soon Gumi returned to her cake.

Thanks to the lull in conversation, Gakupo heard a heavy but muffled sound, coming from somewhere behind and above him. The roof, his mind supplied. Maybe it was the neighbor's cat? There was an orange tree on their side near the boundary fence, although it seemed too distant for a safe leap. _I hope she didn't hurt herself_ , Gakupo thought.

The words had barely crossed his mind when something else landed on the roof, making a similar sound. Then the two beings began to race from one side of the house to the other, making the old support beams creak. It sounded like mad dancers pounding on the tiles with heavy boots while they followed a very complicated choreography. More noises followed, although it was hard to say if it was the same two bouncing up and down or new arrivals.

Needless to say, no cat was big enough to make such a racket.

Gakupo realized he was looking upwards with his mouth hanging slightly open and his arm frozen in mid-air. Gumi's spoon landed on the table, loudly hitting the plate in front of her. An inarticulate sound came out of her mouth.

As sudden as the sounds themselves, a sharp stab of pain behind his eyes made Gakupo grab his head. He unwittingly pushed his glass off the table with his elbow and it shattered on the ground. The fragments bounced all over the floor with a tinkling sound almost drowned by the repeated stomping over their heads.

"Wh-Wha-" Gumi looked from him to the ceiling and back, completely overwhelmed by the situation.

"My head...it's like this morning." Gakupo meant to say more, but all that came out of his mouth was a groan. The pain felt even worse than before, and having a full stomach was doing him no favors.

Gumi jumped to her feet and rushed to her brother's side. She grasped frantically at his left sleeve, then asked stumbling over her words, "What do we do?! What do we do?!"

Gakupo squeezed his eyes shut, trying to concentrate. There was an obvious answer: lock himself and Gumi in the bathroom and call the police. If those things were corporeal enough to stomp on their roof, hopefully they were corporeal enough to get scared away by bullets. All he needed was to tell Gumi to use her phone and make the call.

And yet, Gakupo hesitated. If he involved the police, there was a chance Gumi and he would have to go back to his uncle's house. After all the pleading, all the suffering, all the anger…He couldn't stand the idea. To be free, to have Luka by his side, to finally be home again, only to lose it all after a few days?

It was irresponsible, selfish and perhaps suicidally stupid to do anything else but call for help. He wasn't on his own, he needed to keep Gumi safe!

And yet, he hesitated. But then a particularly loud bang over their heads made Gumi scream in terror and he knew he had no choice, yet again.

"Gumi, get-"

The sounds stopped. There wasn't even a hint of a presence above their heads. The siblings looked at the ceiling, shocked, and then at one another. At least thirty seconds passed in complete silence.

"Get a change of clothes, whatever else you need. Let's call a cab and go to Luka's house," Gakupo said, squinting a bit due to the piercing lights of the dining area. "I'll let her know we're coming." She stared as if she had forgotten what those words meant, still clinging to the fabric of his sleeve. He pried off her fingers gently. "Go, quickly."

Gumi's eyes suddenly focused. "R-right!" Without another word, she ran towards the corridor.

Gakupo rose from his chair much more slowly, making sure not to look directly at any lights, and headed for his room. _Luka's mother is going to ask all sorts of questions_ , he thought as he walked down the corridor rubbing his temples. He had little doubt that she would shelter them, at least for a few days. But she'd probably demand to know exactly what they were running away from.

He stopped and leaned on the doorway to his bedroom, lost in thought. The last thing he needed was for Ms. Asakawa to think he was insane or lying. What sort of explanation would she want to hear? Maybe Luka could help him concoct something plausible.

His train of thought was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of breaking glass from his left, together with a high-pitched scream and other noises that were harder to identify.

"Gumi!" He turned his head quickly towards the end of the corridor, and was rewarded with fresh needles puncturing his brain. But the situation unfolding before him was a powerful distraction from the pain.

Gumi burst out of her room and crashed into the opposite wall violently. She stumbled, but quickly scrambled to her feet and ran in his direction, with eyes wide with fear.

"What-!" Gakupo's phrase was cut short when Gumi collided like a cannonball against him. Despite their size difference, his sister managed to push him inside his bedroom, making him fall to his knees. She almost fell to the floor as well but managed to grab the doorknob and close the door behind her.

For a second there was nothing but darkness and the uneven breathing of the siblings, but then Gakupo heard scratching along the walls of the corridors, as whatever beings had been on the roof now approached his bedroom. Several throats let out a howl unlike he had ever heard. He jumped to his feet, stars exploding before his eyes thanks to the migraine; he fumbled around until his hands found the hard corner of his dresser.

Gumi hit the light switch and took a step away from the door quickly. She then noticed her brother pushing the heavy dresser towards the door and rushed to help him. The noise outside turned thunderous as the intruders let out more alien, warped cries. Over and over they pummeled the walls and door. Each impact was so strong that if completely focused on the door, their efforts would've destroyed it before the siblings had time to block it. But for whatever reason, the attack was as disorderly as it was violent.

With a final grunt of effort, Gakupo and Gumi pushed the dresser into place. Gakupo leaned his forehead against the shaking wall, heaving, while Gumi curved like a ball on the floor.

The light blinked.

Gakupo looked upwards, just in time to see the light bulb flicker once more. Then his gaze travelled downwards and saw-

Two orbs of fire were outside the window. Two tiny stars close together, two rubies set on black velvet… Except they weren't stars or rubies, they were eyes staring at him, _examining his insides_. Invisible threads connected his pupils and the eyes in the darkness, and he couldn't look away, couldn't even blink. His eyes burned, his mouth hung open but no sounds came out.

Vague scenes and sensations came to him crawling from one end of the threads to the other, and suddenly the house and everything around him was gone. His body hung from the rusty wall of an immense chamber, one amongst many puppets. His eyes were gone, his insides felt emptied out. He knew himself to be dead.

Then his surroundings changed, and he was running along a hallway with ashen walls. Alcoves appeared and disappeared to his left and right as he ran, dark spaces with misshapen shapes that moved and screeched and tried to grab him. He jumped over squirming vines and evaded burnt, festering limbs. Claws caked with filth tore at the remains of his clothes and left red trails on his skin.

The world twisted and exploded into clear light. He was in a orchard consumed by fog. A woman was bound tightly to one of the trees. Her long pink hair hid her face, but Gakupo knew this was someone that once was precious to him. The sight of her battered body neither saddened nor distressed him, he couldn't feel anything but a mild sense of curiosity. He calmly approached her and traced the line of her collarbone with a finger. The woman trembled and Gakupo knew she was going to beg for her life, but before she could raise her head, she vanished alongside the orchard.

Gakupo was now climbing a steep incline devoid of any vegetation. The ground was so dry it crumbled under his feet and hands. But finally he reached the top and laboriously hauled himself over the edge. He was close, after all those years. Tears filled his eyes when his gaze landed on the massive tower in the distance.

The visions began to pile faster and faster, until they were nothing but scattered images, bare concepts mixed together like discordant notes. Blood, pain, cold fog, water, a woman's face, books piled to the ceiling in a great library, calculations on a blackboard, sacks of grain stacked on a dusty room, pink hair waving underwater, entrails strewn across a wooden table, a jellyfish-like creature lying squashed on a stone floor, a birdcage… More and more and more colors and shapes, mute and meaningless, burrowing inside his skull and wringing his brain. The invisible threads were not threads, they were incandescent daggers carving into his sense of self, emptying his body and stuffing his skin with nightmares. What was left of him would drop into the pits of fire outside his window and be consumed...

Two small hands covered his eyes, and a sweet, tiny little voice wrecked by sobs cried out. It was perhaps the only voice in the world he could've recognized at that point.

"Gumi…?" Another voice croaked gracelessly in response. His own voice. His life returned to him in a flash. He knew his name, he knew where he stood. Gumi had cut the threads.

"Close your eyes, don't look at him!" Even though she was next to him, Gumi shouted to be heard above the thundering noises nearby. The intruders were still just outside the door.

His hands rose and held his sister's hands in place. "I can't… I can't stop myself."

"Turn around!" They clumsily turned so Gakupo was facing away from the window. "Sit down!" Gumi pulled him to the floor.

Almost lost in the confusion, there was another sound: a finger poking at the glass. _Let me in_ , it seemed to say. _I'm not done with you._

"What- what is he doing?" Gakupo began to turn, his neck followed the motion, then the shoulders…

"Don't look!" Gumi grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked it hard, causing him to wince and stagger. She quickly reached past him and closed the curtain. "The wardrobe! Before he gets in!" The two of them crawled towards their mother's old wardrobe, one of the only things their family had spared when they went through the house after the funeral. The siblings pushed and pushed, the wardrobe creaked, the floor tiles whined and the hand behind the curtain kept knocking on the glass. It shouldn't have been possible, given the weight of the wardrobe. It wasn't even empty. But there was no choice. They had no choice.

Once the wardrobe was blocking the window, Gakupo sat with his back against it, cradling Gumi in his arms. In contrast to the noises coming from both sides, they were silent. There wasn't much left to say. They had no weapons, no way to call for help. Once the intruders became tired of terrorizing them, it would be the end. The lights sputtered for the final time and went out.


	5. Gone

Thanks for your kind comments! I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

* * *

Chapter 5 - Gone

The old cliche says that men aren't supposed to cry. And for the most part, he didn't. The last time he really let himself cry was at the funeral, all those years ago. It truly felt like the world itself had shattered that day, and he was slipping through the cracks, falling headfirst into a completely different reality. He learnt to adapt to the uglier world beneath, if nothing else for Gumi's sake. And yet there were still times when lack of forethought left him nursing a new ache and fighting to keep the tears at bay.

On those occasions, he would sit in his room and stare at the wall, feeling a curious sense of detachment from his own rage. It almost felt like he could physically extract it from his body and bury it inside a drawer. Yes! Bury it, drown it, burn it away. Never let anyone know how much it hurt. He tried his very best on that front, in any case. He smiled all the time, no matter what his uncle or aunt ever said or did to him. He watched himself from a distance, nodding in approval of his own performance. A perfect unfolding.

Even now, as he sat in the darkness holding his sobbing sister, Gakupo felt a sliver of himself take a step backwards to better observe the situation. Perhaps there was a limit to the fear one can feel before wearing down the cohesion of their mind. He clearly was losing his sense of time. It felt like hours since Gumi and he were plunged into darkness, flanked by unexplainable attackers. Yet it couldn't be that long. Was the finger that tapped the crystal of his window marking the time, like the hands of a clock? What did it signify?

Tap.

Gakupo smiled when a crazed thought crossed his mind.

Tap.

Maybe the man outside _was_ his anger, and he didn't appreciate being tossed aside so blithely?

Tap.

A voice, so similar to his own, and yet twisted into something completely inhuman, uttered a few unrecognizable words. Gakupo couldn't even tell if it was a language he could identify, not with the beasts hollering and thrashing about in the corridor. The tapping stopped.

Another single word. The noises outside his bedroom door quieted down abruptly.

In the sudden silence, Gumi's sniffling seemed very loud. His own breathing wasn't all that subtle either. If anything, Gakupo felt his airways even more constricted than before, panic rising with the uncertainty of what was happening. Why did they stop? What were they planning to do?

He waited. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Then, the blaring of a siren in the distance. It grew in volume, until it became obvious that the source of the sound was heading in their direction.

Gumi shifted in his arms. "The police…"

"Maybe the neighbors heard what was happening," Gakupo replied. His voice sounded terrible to his ears, strained and dry. But it was his own, even if it felt like his larynx was suddenly dying.

Gumi tried to stand up, but Gakupo grabbed one of her arms. "Don't move the dresser just yet. It might be some kind of trick."

"Like what?" She asked, but Gakupo felt her sit down by his side once more.

"I don't know. Just wait."

The siren became louder and louder until it stopped in front of their home. Then, he could hear the muffled voices of men shouting at the door. They sounded completely normal. Next to him, Gumi moved restlessly. Even without the lights on, he could picture her impatient expression. "Alright. Call out to them, I can't shout like this."

Immediately Gumi jumped to her feet and cried out, "Help! We're in here! Help!"

In contrast, Gakupo remained seated where he was. He leaned his head against the wardrobe and listened with something oddly close to apathy as the police busted down the front door and entered the house. Was he going to pass out? His limbs felt like wool, and his head throbbed terribly. He closed his eyes as he heard what he assumed were the men quickly scanning the rest of the house for threats. Even when the officers began to try to open the bedroom door the only thing he could accomplish was to stop himself from sliding down to the floor.

"What are you doing?!" He heard Gumi yell as she and the officers struggled to get the dresser out of the way. "Help me push!" Her voice broke into a graceless little screech born out of nerves.

 _I can't_ , Gakupo wanted to say. But nothing came out of his mouth except a raspy cough. One of the officers managed to angle his flashlight in such a way to illuminate his face through the crack of the door and he groaned, blinded.

"Hold on, kid! We'll get out in no time!"

Finally, Gumi seemed to angle the dresser in such a way as to allow the officers to push it away. A slamming sound and there they were, two dark silhouettes scanning every corner of the room with their flashlights. As soon as they made sure the siblings were the only occupants of the room, one of the men approached Gakupo to help him up. But his legs were as steady as gelatine and immediately buckled under him.

"I'm sorry sir, I-"

"No reason to apologize, kid. I'll just need to—" The officer simply bent down and picked up Gakupo in a fireman's carry. Then he turned towards Gumi. "How about you, can you walk?"

Gumi just nodded, wiping her face.

"That's good, very good." The man said gently. "Let's get you both out of here, come on."

In the meantime, the other man had retreated into the corridor and was speaking in hushed tones into a cell phone. In his disoriented state, Gakupo couldn't quite decipher what the officer was saying.

The officer ended the call and addressed the man carrying Gakupo. "It's confirmed. The techs are on their way."

"What are you talking about?" Gumi asked.

The other man replied amicably. "This is a crime scene now, we need our friends from the laboratory to examine your house for a few days. Do you have any relatives or friends you can stay with?"

"...Luka's house." Gakupo mumbled her address.

"Canopus Circle?" There seemed a hint of surprise in the man's tone, but it was quickly gone by the time he spoke again. "I see. I see."

"Let's move," the other man said curtly. He grabbed Gumi's right forearm and pulled her towards the front door. Her brother heard her gasp, perhaps due to the officer's forceful attitude, perhaps due to the disastrous spectacle of their home.

Gakupo closed his eyes once more, unwilling to see what had become of the rooms that were just starting to become 'theirs´ after years of absence. He only opened them when the officer deposited him in the back seat of their car. With surprise, he realized that it was just a regular model without any separation between the front and back. What's more, now that he could see them in better light conditions, he realized that the men weren't wearing uniforms, just matching dark sport jackets without any logos, white shirts and dress pants.

By his side, Gumi was hugging her backpack and anxiously peering into the darkness outside the windows of the car. She obviously hadn't noticed anything strange about the two adults yet.

At that moment, the more jovial of the two men started the engine. His eyes met Gakupo's in the rear-view mirror and he gave the teen an encouraging smile. "Feeling better?"

"...Kinda." Except for the sinking realization that Gumi and he were trapped inside a moving vehicle with two strangers that might not belong to any law enforcement agency.

"That's good. Just lean back and take it easy."

At that hour, there was barely any traffic to speak of. The car freely raced down the street, turning the surroundings into a blur of sleeping homes and golden streetlights. Inside Gakupo's aching head, the questions just kept piling up. Real police officers would surely show them their badge and ask some questions about the home invaders, but these men seemed in no hurry to do either thing. Instead, they were rushing to drop them off somewhere, without even taking them to a hospital for a check-up… But if they weren't real police officers, who were they? What were they after? Was the car really headed to Luka's house? Gakupo was still getting used to the city, but they seemed to be headed in the right general direction. It could be a mere coincidence, however.

"Are you...like, detectives?" Gumi suddenly asked. "Why don't you wear caps and uniforms?"

The driver laughed. "Fair question. This is called wearing plainclothes, surely you've seen that kind of thing on TV." He seemed unfazed by the girl's question, and his sullen companion didn't even react in any noticeable way.

Gumi nodded, satisfied with the man's answer for the time being. Her brother, on the other hand, attempted to mask his troubled expression by rubbing his forehead. He wasn't sure it was a good idea to keep questioning these men, even though he dearly wished to do so. Ultimately, he decided to wait and see. Maybe he was overthinking things; after all, the men seemed far from hostile. So, although sleep seemed next to impossible given the circumstances, he tried to find a comfortable position to rest his head.

"Use this." Gumi took out a sweater from her backpack and handed it to Gakupo. He thanked her mutedly and placed it under his head as a makeshift pillow.

There was no more conversation until the car finally reached Luka's street. Then, the driver stated to his companion with a grin, "I'd better stay in the car. Keeps things simple, right?" The other man grunted in agreement.

Gakupo opened one eye tiredly. What did the man mean by that? But there beyond the windshield, just in the threshold of visibility, was Luka's home with its ivy and worn-down steps. The prospect of seeing her eclipsed everything else for a few blessed moments.

The car stopped next to the house and the sullen man jumped out. Gumi made to follow him, but the driver locked the doors once more and turned around in his seat. "Wait a moment, we need to have a little chat."

Gakupo strengthened up, suddenly alert. He and Gumi stared at the smiling man in silence.

"You aren't in any trouble, don't worry," the man reassured them. "I just wanted to ask you to keep the details of what happened tonight a secret until we come to get your statement. You can do that, right?"

"Why?" Gumi asked tilting her head.

"Standard police procedure. That way, the bad guys will think we know less about what's going on, and we can catch them unawares."

"But-"

"We promise," Gakupo cut her off. Gumi gave him an annoyed glance, but when their eyes met her irritation subsided. Even without words, she knew this was somehow important.

"It's a promise!" The man leaned towards the front passenger window. "Too bad we had to wake your friend and her mother up."

Ms. Asakawa was in the doorway, wrapped in a dark dressing gown. Luka was behind her, peeking at the car. The sullen man turned around and gestured with his hand.

"There you go," the driver said and unlocked the passenger doors.

Gumi jumped out, but then stopped and turned towards her brother.

"I'm not sure I can make it up the stairs without help," he stated in response to her questioning look. It was as if the encounter with his doppelgänger had completely drained his limbs of energy. Still, he pushed himself towards the open passenger door and tried to get up. He spent a second or two trying and failing to steady his legs, then Gumi circled his waist with her arms to keep him from falling.

At the sight of this, Luka wormed her way past her mother and the officer and descended the stairs. "Are you ok?!" She was wearing cute pink pajamas that didn't quite match her worried expression. Without waiting for an answer, she wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Lean on me!"

"It's nothing serious," Gakupo said with as light a tone as his sore throat allowed.

"Can you carry him to the second floor? We have a room-" Before Ms. Asakawa could finish, the sullen man grunted in agreement and approached the teens.

And that's how, minutes later, Gakupo found himself in a rather agreeable situation: lying down on Ms. Asakawa's guest bedroom, with Luka sitting next to his pillow. They were alone. Gumi had requested and obtained permission to take a bath before bed and Ms. Asakawa was down in the basement, attempting to unearth Luka's sleeping bag and some of her old clothes for the green-haired girl. The officers were long gone, leaving only a vague promise to call later.

Luka's cheeks were flushed as she leaned over Gakupo and brushed his hair away from his eyes. Her fingers felt cool and light, barely making contact with his skin. The gesture felt intimate yet mysterious, a sensation accentuated by the warm light of the lamp on the nightstand. All Gakupo wanted then was to lie there silently by Luka's side and watch the caramel glimmer of her hair. But the expectant face above his demanded an explanation.

" _He_ came for us while we were having dinner." The words still sounded strained, although his throat felt a bit better. "He had some things with him, the same things that chased you down in the clinic, I'd bet. They got inside the house."

Luka's eyes widened. She leaned down slightly, causing her loose hair to brush against Gakupo's face. "You saw what they are?"

"Not- Not the things. But when we locked ourselves inside my room, he was outside, looking in through the window. Looking right at me."

Luka sucked air.

Gakupo hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I suppose you would've mentioned it by now, but… Did you _see_ anything when he looked at you?"

"Eh?"

"I don't know what it was, some kind of hallucination? It was something about a tower. You were there as well, I think." For whatever reason, now that he was actively trying to recall the visions, the images seemed to burrow in the depths of his brain, eluding him.

Luka shook her head, obviously baffled.

"It must work differently for me, whatever this is." Gakupo had suspected this for a while, given that none of the girls that had encountered the man in the grey suit mentioned any headaches either. "If Gumi wasn't there to snap me out of it, I don't know what would've happened. I felt like I was losing my mind."

Luka leaned back, lost in thought. She snapped out of it moments later, adopting a serious expression. "You know what? It's really late and you look awful. Try to sleep, we can talk about this tomorrow."

He chuckled, which wasn't a good idea given the condition of his throat. "Hmm, I _do_ feel like someone ran me over and then stomped on my head for seconds. I have a question before you go, though."

"What's that?"

"Did the officer show any ID to your mom when she opened the door? A badge or something?"

"Yes, of course," Luka narrowed her eyes. "I didn't see it up close, but he had a card inside his wallet. Why?"

"I don't know." There was a chance that he was both overly paranoid and too ignorant of how the police department actually worked, especially when it came to dealing with minors. "Ignore me. I shouldn't be keeping an studious girl like you up so late on a school day, rambling about nonsense."

Luka rose from the bed and strengthened her pajamas for slightly longer than necessary. Finally, she asked, "Would it ruin your image of me if I say I might skip school tomorrow? If you still feel sick in the morning, I mean."

The worry behind her words was evident, and it made him almost too happy for words. Almost. "Luka, nothing you can do could ever ruin my image of you. You took us into your home."

Luka evaded his eyes. "It was the obvious thing to do."

"You said it yourself when we visited your friend. Most people just stand aside and let things happen. Don't undervalue what you're doing."

Luka let out a tiny unintelligible sound, still not looking at him. Gakupo waited patiently. After a moment, Luka gave Gakupo a side glance. "You didn't bring anything else to wear, did you?"

"Honestly, I didn't even think about it, we were out the door in an instant when the officers arrived. The only reason Gumi has her backpack is that it was next to the front door."

Luka tapped her chin with a finger. "Then, you better get out of those clothes so I can put them in the washing machine for tomorrow. I'll get you one of mom's bathrobes." She paused, eyeing him with a indescribable expression. "...I'll be back in a moment."

After some struggle, Gakupo managed to wiggle his way out of his clothes despite his rather uncooperative body. He clumsily folded his shirt and pants and left them at the foot of the bed, then got under the covers. Sadly, his tie and jacket were back home, so he didn't even have a full school uniform. He had no doubts at least one teacher would scold him for showing up to school without them.

"I guess they'll have to deal with it," he muttered. He was pretty sure Macne would be more than willing to raise a fuss about it.

A moment later, he heard Luka's voice coming from outside the room, asking if she could come in. After he gave her the go ahead, she cautiously poked her head inside. She was carrying a fluffy white and pink bathrobe in her hands. "Is this ok?"

"Works for me." Gakupo shrugged, not particularly intimidated by the prospect of looking fabulous. He drowsily watched Luka drape it over the back of a chair and pick up his clothes; his eyelids were already dropping in anticipation of sleep. For a second, they closed and he stepped away from consciousness.

"Good night," he heard Luka say softly, as if from a great distance.

He opened one eye and smiled. "Good night, Luka. Thank you for everything."

"Don't mention it." Luka stared at him for a second or two longer, as if wanting to say or do something. But then she exited the room in silence.

Gakupo was fast asleep a few minutes later.

* * *

The alarm let out its unforgiving wail, pulling Luka out of a confusing, but pleasant dream of Gakupo and her living in an inundated city. She groaned and pulled the covers over her head, not quite willing yet to return to reality. Then, she heard a low muttering and shuffling. The alarm quieted down.

 _Oh, right_. Luka sat up and saw Gumi next to her nightstand, scratching herself and looking as alert as a zombie. She was wearing an enormous T-shirt advertising a tourist spot— a gift from one of Ms. Asakawa's colleagues that Luka had never actually worn. Gumi was small enough that it served as a minidress of sorts.

"Good…" Gumi yawned spectacularly. "...Morning." She didn't seem to be in any rush to start the day.

"Good morning." Luka eyed the door to her room. "I'm gonna see how Gakupo is doing, ok? You can use the bathroom first."

Gumi grunted her acceptance and set out for the bathroom with the celerity of an iceberg. Luka jumped out of the bed and onto the sleeping bag and inflatable mattress on the floor. It made her room looks much messier and crammed than usual. She stepped around the younger girl and exited her room with unusual energy despite the hour.

Only when she was about to knock on the guest room's door did she pause. If Gakupo was still feeling under the weather, perhaps it was better to just let him sleep a bit longer.

 _But if he's up for it, I'd rather have him at school with me…_ There was still plenty she didn't understand, but from their conversation the night before she was certain it was a bad idea to leave Gakupo alone.

Before she could decide on a course of action, the door opened. Gakupo stood there garbed in the fluffy bathrobe, unsuccessfully fighting a particularly bad case of bed hair. After a moment, he gave her a sleepy smile. "Good morning."

"Good morning. How do you feel?"

"Pretty good, actually. The headache is gone." He tried again to comb his hair with his fingers, with predictably mediocre results. Vexingly, Luka realized she felt very tempted to ask Gakupo to let her brush his hair. _It would be even better if it was longer_ , her mind shamelessly supplied. After all, she already had visual evidence of how good he would look with a ponytail.

Gakupo let his hand drop and he asked her in a marginally more alert tone, "Is there something wrong?"

Luka let out a non-committal grunt. There was a small, somewhat awkward pause before she asked, "You are coming to school with me, right?" A second later, Luka remembered Gumi and realized she hadn't even thought of including the younger girl in her question.

"I mean, if you wanna do something else I'm all ears, but yeah, that was the plan," Gakupo replied with his usual easygoing tone.

"Good. We're all going then." Luka eyed her bedroom door. "Though now that I think about it, Gumi is taking too long to get into the bathroom. We have time, but she really should get moving."

Gakupo laughed. "I bet you anything that she went back to sleep."

Luka took a step backwards and gestured for him to check for himself. Gakupo approached her door and quietly turned the knob. Gumi was curled up in Luka's bed, snoring contently as if it were her own. Gakupo shook his head at first with a look of amusement, but gradually his brow furrowed. "What am I going to do, Luka?"

"Huh?"

"I can't protect her from this. We don't even know what this man wants, or why he decided to act now." He closed the door and leaned against the opposite wall. After a sigh, he dropped his gaze and added quietly, "Maybe she'd be safer away from me."

Luka considered the idea. "While we investigate, you mean? I guess she could stay with your family for a while—"

"Not them. No." Gakupo hugged himself as if cold. "There has to be another option." Even without the words themselves, his tone of voice and body language made it completely clear that the option was off the table.

 _I wonder what happened to make him feel this way about them_ , Luka thought. But it wasn't the right moment to broach the subject, not yet. Instead, she asked, "What about Miku?"

The suggestion made Gakupo raise his head, eyes shining with a hopeful light. "That's it! I'm sure she'll say yes!"

"Then Gumi can stay with her until we figure this out, and you can stay here with me," Luka concluded, satisfied.

Gakupo stared at her with a hesitant expressio _n_. "Are you sure? What if he comes here again? He could be after me."

"We're getting a new security system installed today." When he still looked unconvinced, Luka placed her hands on her hips. "It's better than having you back home alone, unless you're _trying_ to make me worry!"

"I…"

"Please." Luka reached out and grasped one of his hands.

Gakupo's eyes seemed less confident than what Luka would've liked, but finally he gave her a relenting smile. "I was the one that said we'd solve this together, wasn't I?"

"You were," the girl agreed. "And we will."

* * *

What with one thing and another, it was fairly close to the start of the school day when Gakupo and Luka walked into their classroom. A few heads turned their way, accompanied by the expected tittering and whispering, only exacerbated by Gakupo's incomplete uniform. Luka surveyed the class with an icy stare and sternly marched towards her chair. Gakupo approached his own desk wishing he could achieve the same level of intimidation.

Kaito was already on his seat, fiddling with his mobile. But as soon as Gakupo moved the chair to sit down, his blue-haired classmate raised his head and grinned. "Hey! What's with the casual look?"

"Hello." Gakupo plopped down and rested his elbows on the desk. "Can I go for the tired phrase and say it's a long story?"

"Sure, but I don't think that's gonna work with Samuels or Macne."

Gakupo shrugged. Luka's mom had offered to write down an explanation of last night's events in case any teachers took offense at the state of his wardrobe, but since she wasn't his guardian he doubted it would make a difference.

"And Luka didn't nag you about it? You're a bad influence, man." Kaito laughed.

Gakupo spared a glance to the side, wondering if Luka was listening in. Instead, he found the girl looking towards the door, practically oozing indignation. He followed her gaze and saw Yohio rushing towards his seat at the last second before their math teacher walked in.

 _I'm pretty sure half of the fun for Yohio and the others is to get a reaction out of Luka_ , Gakupo thought as the teacher began to call the roll. _If they find out we're gonna live together for a while, it's only going to fuel the gossip._ Not that it really mattered to him: Gakupo was more than prepared to ignore them until they grew bored. Whether Luka was ready to do the same was another matter entirely.

Math class passed as swiftly as it could be expected to, which wasn't swift at all. But finally the chime for first break sounded. Yohio immediately jumped to his feet and almost ran into the teacher's back in his hurry to exit the classroom. Luka rose almost as quickly, but seemed to mentally reconsider the idea of pursuing the blonde boy before taking two steps.

Gakupo walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe we should forget about him?"

Luka eyed him with a frown, but finally made a gesture with her hands, indicating her surrender. "Fine. But if I catch him spying on us again…," she trailed off ominously.

Gakupo smiled, honestly impressed at how threatening Luka could look. It helped tremendously that he wasn't the current target of her wrath, so he was free to admire the intensity of her eyes. Beautiful.

The girl seemed to calm down somewhat in response to his reaction. She looked downwards and played with a lock of pink hair. "This is giving me a headache, I think I need some air." She approached the window and Gakupo gladly followed her, then leaned next to her on the sill.

For a minute or two neither spoke, content as they were to feel the breeze and each other's close presence. Then, Gakupo noticed Yohio on the grounds below, as the boy ran towards the fence encircling the school. Oddly enough, he wasn't headed for the main entrance, where a few people were posted selling treats as usual. His destination was to the left, towards a nicely shaded spot near the corner of the property. A couple of evergreen trees and some bushes were planted in a squarish shape, partially hiding the view of the street beyond them.

There was a splotch of color there, at the other side of the metal bars. Someone was waiting for Yohio.

"What is it?" Luka asked when she noticed Gakupo craning his neck. She followed her gaze just in time to see Yohio stop by the fence and begin a conversation with whoever was there. "Oh."

"Can you tell who he's talking to?" There was something familiar about that figure, but Gakupo couldn't exactly place it.

"No idea." The corners of her mouth curved upwards. "He might have some secrets of his own. The difference between us being, I'm not that eager to stick my nose in someone else's business."

"And that makes you a hundred times better in my book." Without thinking, Gakupo put his arm around her shoulders. A second later, she captured his hand, making sure he couldn't pull it away.

They stayed like that, without moving, for the rest of the break.

* * *

Several days passed. The police appeared to have no hurry in their investigation; there were no calls and no indication that it was okay for the siblings to return to their home.

Fortunately, Miku was more than glad to have Gumi over for as long as necessary. Perhaps the teal-haired girl felt suffocated in her isolating bubble of luxury or her shyness made her feel attracted towards her more outgoing and spontaneous friend. Whatever the reason, her affection was clear. Gumi reciprocated in her own, not particularly self-reflective way, with energy and cheer.

Gakupo was also faring quite well. It was a bit bothersome to go without his things, but Ms. Asakawa had stepped in with her usual largesse to make sure he had toiletries and spare clothes. Needless to say, he felt a small pang of sadness from time to time when he thought of his parent's home going unattended once more. Gakupo could easily picture the remains of the dinner he never finished rotting on the table, but what about the rest of the house? How hard would it be to clean and fix everything? How many irreplaceable mementos were lying now in pieces in the corridor and living room? He now regretted closing his eyes when the officer carried him to the car that night. At least he'd know.

But his worry often retreated to the back of his mind, buried under a surprising sense of contentment. He had felt as an unwanted guest for so long at his uncle's house that it was almost frightening how welcomed he felt now. Ms. Asakawa was flighty and almost childlike at times, but accepting and good-humored. And Luka?

What was a good way to describe what he felt when their eyes met each morning? When he glanced at her in class, just to see her profile? When she followed him into the guest room one afternoon and haltingly asked him to hug her?

It was too much, too all-consuming. Luka was pale roses and ivory, and faraway oceans full of secrets. A cold star spreading her light across the cosmos, as unknowable as the black void between galaxies. And yet, she was also the calm, smart girl sitting next to him studying physics. The warm girl guiding him by the hand towards a private spot in the school grounds. She was a regular girl, she was everything, she was blinding. Her light seared his eyes, and he could no longer see the cracks of the world.

The cracks were still there, of course. And beyond them, all the hateful things waiting in the dark.

One evening, Luka and Gakupo were studying together in her room. Low instrumental music played on her phone, complementing the subdued scratching of their pencils and the occasional comment or question.

"What did you get on this one?" Gakupo pointed to the fourth exercise on a long list of equations.

"32."

"32? Wha-? Did I forget a minus sign somewhere?" He studied his work sheet with a frown.

"Or maybe I did," Luka said charitably, though pretty convinced she had the right answer. Gakupo had a bad tendency to skip steps while working on problems, which sometimes ended on disaster. She, on the other hand, was proudly fastidious when it came to writing down every part of the solution. "Let me see what the book says," she added while grabbing her textbook.

She was still looking for the answer when the door opened and Ms. Asakawa stood on the threshold, phone in hand. "Sachiko just called me." In contrast to her usual demeanor, her tone of voice was subdued. Luka eyed her with suspicion. Her mother only spoke like that when she didn't want to alarm her, which naturally ended up having the opposite effect.

"Is something the matter?" Gakupo asked innocently.

For a second, Ms. Asakawa studied him, clearly having some internal debate. "Did Gumi call you, by any chance?"

"I left my phone back home," Gakupo replied shaking his head. "She has Luka's number in case of emergency, but…" He eyed the device on the bed, still playing music.

Luka took her phone and checked it, just in case. No messages, just as she expected. She communicated this to her mother.

Again, Ms. Asakawa seemed to have trouble deciding what to say. Finally, Gakupo asked, "What did Miss Sachiko say?"

"The girls are missing." Apparently, the woman abruptly decided that the direct approach was the best. She raced through the rest of the explanation, "Sachiko left Gumi and Miku in the greenhouse having tea. When she went to get them for dinner a couple hours later, they were gone. She searched for them all over the property, then went outside to the street, but couldn't find them. She was hoping you knew something."

Gakupo turned white as the papers before him. He rose to his feet as if pulled by a wire, dropping the pencil and worksheets to the ground. His mouth moved forming a syllable, but no sound came out.

Luka stood up as well, stomach churning. But she managed to ask, "Did she call the police?"

Her mother gave her an odd look. "Yes, they sent a squad car." Her eyes fixed on Gakupo's deathly pale face next. "At first, the officers suggested that maybe the girls snuck out to have fun. And when Sachiko reminded them that Gumi had already been attacked at her home, they didn't know what she was talking about."

"W-What?"

"No one in the precinct has ever heard of you, your sister, or any recent incident at Pyrgi Street. They have no idea who those men that came to your house are."


	6. The Other Home

Chapter 6 - The Other Home

* * *

"No one in the precinct has ever heard of you, your sister, or any recent incident at Pyrgi Street. They have no idea who those men that came to your house are."

Ms. Asakawa's words echoed inside Luka's head like a drop of icy liquid dropping down into an already spilling cup. Yet another mystery thrusted into her hands, yet another piece to a puzzle that continued to grow more and more complex. Luka turned to look at Gakupo, recalling his question about the policemen's ID. Did he suspect something from the start?

Her classmate seemed paralyzed with confusion and dread, so deep into shock that Luka could've pushed him to the ground without any resistance and acknowledgement. Her heart ached at the suffering evident in his face. She needed to reassure him somehow, but could mere words help him in any way? She was still unsure about what to do when Gakupo abruptly returned to his senses and took a step towards the door.

Luka swiftly grabbed one of his arms. "Wait!" If nothing else, she had to stop him from acting foolishly.

"I have to go look for Gumi!"

"You are not going anywhere, especially not at this hour!" Ms. Asakawa pointed to the window, where the partially closed curtain allowed a glimpse of the darkness outside.

"My sister is missing! I'm not going to just sit here!" Gakupo tried to pry Luka's fingers off his arm, but she held on stubbornly, using her weight to hinder his movements.

"Do you have any idea of where they could be?" Luka asked. As she hoped, Gakupo opened and closed his mouth, caught off-guard. "You don't. You were going to just run out there without any clues. Alone. At night."

His shoulders sagged. "I can't- I sent her away, Luka. I wasn't there to protect her," he said raggedly.

Luka hugged him. "You didn't know," she whispered into his ear.

"I don't understand what's going on," Ms. Asakawa complained more to herself than to teens. "But I do know that another missing kid is not going to improve the situation. You're not going out and that's final."

There was a moment of silence. Gakupo kept his eyes fixed on a corner of the room, biting his lip.

"Besides…" Ms. Asakawa added pensively. "The police, the real police, will want to speak to you about what happened the other night. You need to be here in case they come by."

Another silence, and then Gakupo buried his face in Luka's hair for a moment, before uttering a toneless, "Yes, ma'am."

* * *

Luka sat on the bottom step of the staircase, resting her head on her hands and her elbows on her knees. It was way past her usual bedtime, but she wasn't about to go to bed while Gakupo and the officers were still talking inside Ms. Asakawa's study. Her mother was in there as well, and she could sometimes hear her words raise above the murmur of masculine voices.

Could the men inside the room really save the missing girls? They had to be better equipped than Gakupo and her to handle this, even if this situation had some unusual characteristics. On the other hand, millions of girls and boys went missing every year without any resolution to their cases. Would Gumi and Miku become faded missing posters on a wall somewhere?

Luka began braiding a lock of her hair as she tried to bring the image of the false policemen to the forefront of her mind. The one that knocked on her door seemed normal enough, at least when it came to physical appearance. Dark-skinned, black hair closely cropped, attractive features set in a serious, almost unwelcoming expression. And what about the one inside the car? He might as well not been there, as far as she was concerned. That made her wonder: Was he purposefully staying out of sight? In that case, why? The one at the door wasn't afraid of showing his face. And Gakupo was perfectly capable of describing the one inside the car to a police sketch artist.

The door of the study opened and out came Ms. Asakawa, then the uniformed men and lastly Gakupo, absently rubbing one of this arms. Ms. Asakawa made a face when she saw Luka, but refrained from scolding her. Instead, she thanked the police for coming and accompanied them to the exit. Gakupo stayed where he was, staring at the floor.

Luka stood up and approached him slowly. She simply didn't know what to say.

"They are going to call my grandfather."

Wasn't that obvious? Even if the relationship between the siblings and the rest of the family was strained, they were minors. "This is serious. They have to be informed."

Gakupo nodded, although he looked far from pleased with the idea. "They have to."

"What are you two doing? Go to bed." Ms. Asakawa returned inside after seeing the policemen off and locked the front door. "Everything is going to be alright, ok?" She added in a milder tone. "Gumi and the other girl, they'll be fine. I promise."

For a second, Gakupo seemed like he wanted to say something. But then, he simply nodded and climbed the stairs. Luka wished her mother a good night and hurried after him.

"Hey!"

Gakupo turned to look at her with a slight frown. But Luka just grabbed his hand and dragged him to her room. Once they were inside, she sat on the bed. Gakupo leaned on her desk tiredly.

"How much did you tell them?"

"You mean, did I tell them about the man by the fountain? About those things?" Gakupo rubbed the bridge of his nose. "No, I didn't."

"Oh."

"We don't have any proof." Gakupo smiled joylessly. "All I'd get from it is a psychiatric evaluation."

Luka tilted her head slightly. Perhaps there was a way to point the police in the right direction without making it sound supernatural? But changing his story now would undoubtedly be suspicious.

Gakupo shook his head, as if he could hear her thoughts. He knelt before her and said, "Luka, I'm going to the old clinic tomorrow. There has to be some clue there."

"The old clinic?" Luka repeated. Try as she might, she couldn't kept her voice from betraying her fear.

"You don't need to go. Just help me get a backpack ready and-"

"If you are going, I'm going!" Luka cut him off, annoyed by his gentle tone. So what if she was scared, she wasn't going to desert him so easily! "We'll find the girls together!"

"Thanks." He rested his hands on top of hers for a moment, with a soft smile on his face.

It made Luka blush, and for a second she felt a strong urge to scurry away, and stare at anything else in the room but his eyes. But it was as if he had the power to mesmerize with a look, just like the mysterious man. If anything, she now wanted to stay in place, holding his hands in hers.

A door creaked and slammed closed in the hallway, and then Ms. Asakawa opened the door to Luka's bedroom. "I said go to sleep!"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Asakawa!" Gakupo rushed out of the room, head lowered. Luka heard his door open and close, this time more carefully.

To Luka's surprise, Ms. Asakawa just stood there for a moment, studying her in silence with a weird expression. She was about to ask if anything was wrong when her mother rushed in and hugged her. "Don't you ever go away, you hear me?! You are all I have!"

"Mom…" Luka's eyes itched. Unlike Gakupo, the words that could ease her mother's worries were easy to find. But her promise to stay forever at Ms. Asakawa's side went unsaid when she remembered her bold declaration moments ago. She hadn't stopped to consider how her mother would feel if something happened to her, not even for a second. Even now, there was no doubt in her mind: she had to follow Gakupo, and find the truth by his side.

Luka pressed her face against her mother's body. Every complaint she ever had was now meaningless and petty. Her mother had tried her best to raise her on her own, and Luka was thankful for all the years they had shared. But that part of her life was over. The future was shapeless, perhaps even threatening. She didn't know if it would be dark like the halls of the abandoned building or warm like Gakupo's eyes. It was taking her far away from this house and the embrace she knew so well. There was no delaying or ignoring it- that was the only certainty she had.

* * *

Everything seemed normal at school the next morning. Luka and Gakupo passed by several groups of gossiping students as they made their way towards their classroom, but nobody seemed aware just yet of the disappearances. The fragments of conversation the pair overheard were concerned with the usual topics like the latest TV shows and movies, or bad-mouthing other classmates and teachers.

Gakupo barely seemed aware of where he was, as if inertia and Luka's hand around his wrist were the only things allowing him to reach their destination. He was already exploring the clinic, even if it was only inside his mind.

As for Luka, she felt so nervous that it was getting difficult to keep an stoic expression on her face. Was it too soon to be freaking out? Perhaps. But ever since the moment she opened her eyes that morning, fear had stubbornly clung to her. Something bad was going to happen at the clinic, she was sure of it. And yet, she couldn't stop Gakupo from going, not when Gumi was in danger. All Luka could was to keep an eye on him and keep him from doing anything rash.

The first person Luka saw when the pair entered their classroom was Yohio. In other circumstances, perhaps her temper would've flared up in response to his little smirk as he looked them up and down. But now he barely mattered. It was a simple matter to walk past him and approach their row of seats.

"I wonder…" Gakupo muttered two steps away from his desk. His eyes studied the room and his classmates with sudden interest.

"What is it?" Luka asked with a whisper.

"Do you know who started the rumor about the stairs? When did you first heard of them?"

"I don't know," Luka admitted after a second. Clearly she'd heard that absurd story long before Miki brought it up, but beyond that, she simply couldn't remember.

"Thing is…" Gakupo paused when the classroom door slammed behind them, but it wasn't the teacher yet, merely an over-enthusiastic student. He continued in the same low tone, "I've been thinking, what if there are other versions of the rumor going around? Maybe what you heard was a corruption of the original tale."

"Like in the game of telephone."

"Exactly." He eyed a trio of students chatting nearby. "We should ask around, see if anyone has heard anything useful about that place."

"Anything useful," Luka repeated somewhat skeptically. Not exactly the words that came to mind when she thought of her classmates, but she shrugged after a moment. "It can't hurt to try, I guess."

The door opened again, and this time Mr. Macne walked inside, looking as annoyed by the world and everything in it as usual. Gakupo and Luka rushed to their seats. Any research would have to wait until break time.

* * *

"The abandoned clinic…" Kaito fiddled with his navy-blue muffler, thinking. "Can't really say, to be honest. It's one of those things, all of the sudden everyone was talking about it, specially the chicks."

Gakupo acknowledged this with a grunt. Across the classroom, Luka was speaking to a bunch of said chicks with a rather stiff expression in her face. He realized that it was the first time he had seen her in a long interaction with any of their classmates. Just how isolated was Luka from everyone else, and why? But that was a concern for another day. He returned his gaze to the blue-haired boy. "Do you mind telling me exactly what you know about it?"

"Um, sure." Kaito picked up a pencil from his desk and began tapping the surface with it rhythmically. "There's this courtyard, right? You're supposed to go there at sunset, read the inscription on the fountain, walk up the red stairs before the sun completely sets, look down and-"

"Hold on, an inscription?"

"Yeah, there's something written on the inside of the fountain. Don't ask me what." Kaito shrugged. "I mean, I'm guessing the idea is that it's some kind of magic spell or something, but come on."

"...I see."

"I think it's my turn to ask questions now," Kaito said, resting his head on one hand. His expression turned slightly more serious. "Is everything ok? You've been acting weird all day. Well, both of you." He gestured vaguely in Luka's direction.

 _Everyone is going to find out anyway…_ "My sister and a classmate of hers went missing yesterday."

Kaito's eyes widened.

"And I think it has something to do with the rumor."

"What? You're joking, aren't you?!" Kaito waited a moment, then grew alarmed when Gakupo shook his head. "But, but- Wait, did you call the cops? Did you tell them to search that place?"

"I didn't tell them about the clinic, but they know Gumi and Miku are missing." Gakupo said wearily. "If I'm right about this being connected to the rumor, they won't be of much use."

"But, if the girls went to check the place, you need to tell the police about it!" Kaito said, staring at Gakupo as if he had suddenly grown a second head. "Hell, if Gumi were my sister I'd be there right now searching for them!" His voice grew louder as he spoke, earning a few odd looks from the others chatting nearby.

"Keep it down!" Gakupo whispered urgently. "You think I'm not worried?! But it's not that simple." He leaned in closer and continued, "I'm pretty sure there's something wrong about that place, but it's not like I have anything concrete to show the cops."

"Something wrong…" Kaito repeated, raising one eyebrow. He then noticed Luka approaching them and something seemed to click inside his head. "So, she was asking Meiko and the others about the rumor too?"

"Yeah. And it doesn't look like there's much to report."

"Let's go get something to drink," Luka said after nodding slightly in Kaito's direction. She looked as tired and unenthusiastic as Gakupo felt.

"Sure," Gakupo stood up, checking his pockets for his wallet.

"Hold on, you didn't explain anything yet!" Kaito stood up as well. "What did you mean by 'something wrong'?"

Luka gave him an icy look and opened her mouth to say something in all likelihood not very nice, but Gakupo interjected a quick, "I'll tell you more when I come back," then led the rose-haired girl out into the corridor. As soon as they exited the classroom, Gakupo whispered into Luka's ear. "I might have something."

"What?" Luka stopped on her tracks, but after a moment followed Gakupo. They headed towards the stairs and joined the steady stream of students going down to grab lunch.

"Did anyone mention an inscription to you? Like, carved on the fountain or something like that?" The look of puzzlement on her face was enough to serve as an answer. "First time you've heard about that, huh?"

"Kaito mentioned that? Did you ask him where he got it?"

Gakupo rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't. Sorry."

"We should ask him as soon as we get back. It's really odd that he's the only one that-" Luka trailed off when Gakupo froze. He was looking at a small group of figures crossing the school grounds. Two of them seemed familiar: the principal and their headroom teacher. Among the others, one immediately reminded her of the boy next to her, though heavier-set and older. The man scowled at everything, from passing children to the teachers escorting him.

"He's already here," Gakupo muttered. He took a deep back, forcing a younger student carrying a stack of boxed meals to swerve violently to avoid bumping into him and dropping his cargo. He completely ignored the boy's protests, staring at the man in the distance with evident dread.

"Who's that?" Luka asked, after the younger boy huffed and went away.

Gakupo visibly struggled for a moment before replying, "My uncle." More hesitation, then he added, "Luka, I need to go."

"What?"

"He's not- He won't let me search for Gumi, I just know it." Gakupo's eyes travelled downwards, and he took a deep breath. "I can't let him take me back, not now." Without any further explanation, he took off running, presumably towards the main gate of the school.

"Wait!" Luka rushed after him, fighting to make her way past the groups of students moving back and forth. She grabbed his right arm and forced him to stop as soon as she could catch up to him.

"Luka, please!" Gakupo eyed her with a hint of irritation. "You don't know what he's like!"

"You can't go out the front in the middle of the day!" Luka replied. She leaned in closer and whispered, "I know a better way out." Not that she wanted to sneak out of school, specially without her backpack, but at least they could try and be a smidge more subtle about it.

Gakupo seemed less than convinced, but after a moment he nodded. Luka led him towards the perimeter of the school, where the vegetation might serve as additional cover for their movements. They quickly passed the packed cafeteria and approached the long and narrow construction at the back of the school. That unattractive building housed the arts and crafts classes, the theater club and some storage rooms. Luckily for them, no one paid too much attention to the pair. The few students that seemed to notice them looked away uninterested or just smiled knowingly, likely assuming they were looking for a quiet place to spend lunchtime together.

Sometimes, people used the paved space behind the auxiliary building as a place to smoke, but luckily at that moment no one was around. Luka and Gakupo walked past props, some costumes hanging from clothes lines and rows of pottery until they reached their destination: a bunch of boxes and discarded materials from the last school festival piled against the fence. Soon, they would be removed and disposed of, but for the moment it was a great way to get out without attracting the attention of a teacher or janitor.

Gakupo made an inarticulate sound of approval when he saw the messy mount. He flashed a smile at Luka and immediately began the climb the nearest box.

"Are you sure you can't talk things over with him?" Luka asked abruptly. Now that she was moments away from freedom, she couldn't help but fret about breaking the rules so boldly.

"Very sure," Gakupo replied, smiling even wider. He helped her up, then examined the alley beyond the fence. It was deserted, thankfully, though the ground looked frightfully far to Luka. Her thoughts must've shown in her face, since he pointed to the building and asked, "Are there any gym mats in there?"

"I think so, but- Oh!" Luka interrupted herself and pointed to a smaller pile next to the back of the building, this one covered by a tarp. "We can use those!"

After that, things were almost too easy. With Gakupo's help, Luka easily went over the fence and landed on the foam pads without issue. He dropped by her side a moment later, looking rather excited by the whole thing. Breaking school regulations wasn't all that exciting to Luka, but she found herself smiling back at him nonetheless. She could worry about consequences later.

* * *

Was Rosetta Junction always like this? The street seemed deserted and sleepy, though it was earlier in the day than Luka's previous visit. Perhaps it made sense, since the residents were still at work. But the girl couldn't help but find the extreme stillness of the environment somewhat unnerving.

The gates of the old clinic were closed again. Three big padlocks hung from heavy chains twisted around the bars. A thick red and black string was tied to each shackle, forming a misshapen triangle. Gakupo reached out to touch the string with a finger, but then stopped and let his hand drop. "That's a bit weird, isn't it?"

"Yeah…"

Gakupo shook his head. "No matter. You said we can climb a tree and get inside?"

"Yes, this way."

Everything was the same as before in the unused space next to the clinic. Or perhaps there was a bit more trash. It made no difference. Soon they were studying the old clinic and gardens from the same thick branch Luka used in her previous visit to drop down.

"I wish we'd brought the bag," Luka whispered. And she had felt so smart putting it all together! But the pink tote with rope, matches, heavy-duty gloves and more was far away, next to her desk. And she wasn't even wearing a scarf to tie it to the branch like last time.

"Best laid plans and all that," Gakupo replied and jumped down. To Luka's surprise, he avoided the dumpster below and instead opted to land directly on the ground with a skillful roll.

"I hope you don't expect me to do that!" And he made it seem so easy, too. Instead of replying, Gakupo just smiled and stood right under her with arms raised. Luka slowly lowered herself until she stood on his shoulders; then she managed to sit down. Gakupo carefully knelt so she could jump to the ground more easily. The whole process only strengthened Luka's resolve to leave acrobatics to other people, whenever possible.

"So, where do we start?" Gakupo asked after Luka's feet touched the ground. He was making his best effort to seem relaxed and confident, but Luka guessed it was an act, at least in part.

She craned her neck to observe the top of the fire escape. Just like the dilapidated space with the kiosk, it looked pretty much the same as she remembered. Whoever had closed the gate and added those chains hadn't bothered to block the obvious entrance. She looked away after a few seconds, pressing her lips together.

"Maybe we should check the fountain," Gakupo suggested, noticing her indecision. He took Luka's hand in his and they slowly approached the back of the property.

As they walked, Luka realized she couldn't hear any birds chirping. With the lack of traffic and no breeze, it meant that the only sound was their steps on the gravel. The background noise that accompanied their existence as city kids was abruptly gone, and with it reality seemed incomplete and strangely intimidating.

Upon reaching the slender fence at the back, it was clear once again that the owners of the property hadn't made much of an effort to impede the passage of uninvited visitors. The fence gate was closed, but it whirred open with barely any resistance after a push. The pair stepped inside the garden, looking around carefully for any signs of trouble. The scene was as peaceful as it could be expected: the fountain, the curving paths circling overgrown grass or long-dead bushes, the fragile-looking benches covered in discolored paint. Everything before their eyes gave off the same sense of loneliness and neglect.

"I guess we'll know soon enough if Kaito's inscription really exists," Gakupo commented. He let go of Luka's hand and began to circle the fountain, looking intently at the inside of the basin. Luka went in the opposite direction.

"Do you think the inscription is at the bottom?"

"If that's the case, we won't see it unless we drain the fountain." Gakupo seemed about to add something else, but all the sudden he stopped on his tracks and narrowed his eyes.

"Do you see something?" Luka went to stand by his side.

"Maybe… Do you see that? On the underside of the second tier?" He pointed to something Luka at first dismissed as an smudge or an imperfection of the stone. Having said that, she had been expecting a long, noticeable carving on the stone, when there was nothing on Kaito's version of the rumor to support something so elaborate.

"I can't-" Luka crouched. It was a better angle, but the distance and light conditions weren't helping. "No, I can't tell what it is."

"I'll have to get into the fountain and take a closer look." With that, Gakupo sat on the rim of the basin and began to untie his shoes.

"What?! No, that's disgusting! You're gonna catch something!" Luka felt nauseated at the very thought of stepping into that deep green liquid.

"I don't have any scratches that could get infected, it's fine," Gakupo replied in his usual easygoing tone. He slung his shoes over his shoulders, then rolled up his trousers.

"Gross." Luka paced back and forth, but didn't try to stop him. Truth be told, it's not like they had any other clues.

Gakupo dipped one feet into the fountain. "Oof, refreshing." He made a face, then added with a crooked smile. "It's like a thick broth or something."

"So gross."

"It feels really weird, I'll grant you that," Gakupo said, moving closer to the center of the fountain. He leaned in to examine the stony surface. "...I don't think this is it, Luka."

"What does it say?" Luka leaned on the border of the fountain.

Gakupo straightened up. "Just some initials and a date. As far as magical inscriptions go-" He trailed off abruptly and his eyes widened. He looked downwards.

"What's wrong?" Luka asked anxiously. "Did something bite you?" There couldn't be anything aside from bacteria inside that stillwater, could it?

"No." He chuckled nervously. "For a moment there… No, the bottom is really slippery, that's all."

Something about his voice made Luka think that he was reassuring himself as much as her. It made her fear grow in intensity. "Here, grab my hand!"

The next seconds seemed to slip by very quickly. Gakupo reached out for her, but once more his face reflected surprise when his whole body leaned forward, as if he had stepped on an incline. Without thinking, Luka let go of the rim and stretched both arms forward to grab hold of his hand. She did so, but his weight pulled her into the fountain with him. They sank into the water.

And kept sinking.

Only at first Luka felt the water around her to be as putrid as she expected. After that atrocious first taste, it quickly grew clear and deathly cold. The light over their heads dissipated and the pair was left slipping further and further into darkness. Soon, Luka couldn't see anything. She gripped Gakupo's hand desperately, even as the freezing water began to drain her strength.

Suddenly, a grey light shone from above. At the same time, Luka's left knee and elbow bumped painfully against something very hard. A moment later, the rest of her body bounced against the stony bottom and her head rose above the water. Luka coughed and heaved, fighting to get air back into her lungs. Another raspy throat echoed her efforts nearby, then she heard splashing and a couple of incoherent, panicked syllables. Worried, Luka pushed her hair out of her eyes and started to turn in Gakupo's direction-

The fountain was gone. Gakupo and Luka were inside a low, rectangular pool of clear water. The clinic and its gardens were nowhere in sight. Instead, a one-storey house surrounded the pool on three sides. The remaining side was blocked by an imposing gate, as tall as the house itself. Beyond the bars, Luka could see a grey, blurry landscape with sparsely-planted trees and a dirt road heading into the fog. The sky above was completely featureless aside from its steely tone.

Gakupo stood up clumsily, shivering. His teeth were chattering so hard that for a few seconds he struggled to get a few words out. "W-What is this place?"

Luka didn't even attempt to speak. The word seemed more and more icy with each second. Her fingers, her face, every part of her body felt both foreign and painfully raw. She closed her eyes for a second, hoping to wake up in her bed. But Gakupo made her stand up and began to pull her towards the edge of the pool.

"In there!" Gakupo had to repeat the words a couple of times before Luka's sluggish brain could decipher them. He pointed towards one of several doors in the wine-colored walls.

 _So cold…_

Before she could register what was happening, Luka found herself crumpled in the ground next to the pool. The connecting tissue from one moment to the next was gone. Then just as abruptly, Gakupo was there dripping all over the stone work and forcing her up again. A small whine escaped her lips. She just needed a second to rest. But the boy was merciless, barely giving her legs time to move.

Luka eyed his deathly-pale profile, then the door he was so desperate to reach. It wasn't fully closed: the tiles next to it shimmered slightly with a golden glow, the reflection of a fire or at least candlelight. Whatever it was, it was a complete departure from the dead hues that dominated the landscape. "Fire…?"

"Must be." Gakupo replied, sounding like this throat was tied into knots. "Almost there."

 _But we don't know who owns this house_ , Luka thought, then immediately decided it didn't matter, as long as she was allowed to sit by that fire and warm up.

Gakupo threw open the door and dragged them both into the room. Not the most stealthy of intrusions, but the air inside felt so pleasant in comparison to the courtyard that Luka found it difficult to care. The room before them was almost twice as long as her bedroom, with doors on every wall. The fireplace was to their left, flanked by a two-seat chair and a footstool. To their right, they saw a queen-sized bed surrounded by built-in shelves, a chest and a small desk with a chair. All the furniture looked out-of-date and a bit dusty, but aside from that, the space looked fairly normal and cozy. Best of all, there were no mysterious men or beasts around.

The pair drew closer to the fireplace with a less than graceful gait, leaving wet footprints on the wooden floor. The fire was fairly low, so Gakupo threw in a couple of logs from a nearby rack while Luka sank to the ground with a happy sigh. Gakupo sat next to her and stretched out his hands towards the flames.

"We should check what's behind those doors," Gakupo muttered reluctantly after a few seconds.

"That'd be the smart thing to do," Luka replied with a whisper, though she felt incredibly disinclined to move.

Gakupo laughed a little, then stood up with a little groan. "I'll do it." He went around Luka and opened the door opposite the one they used to enter, this time more cautiously. It lead to a terrace delimited by a tall hedge. Luka was surprised to see how dark it was outside, as if dusk had arrived the moment they stepped into the room. After a moment, Gakupo closed the door again and locked it. Next, he tried the door to the right of the fireplace. "Hmm…" He said, after the light of the fire revealed a tiled floor and what appeared to be brass and porcelain. His fingers located a light switch near the threshold, but nothing happened when he tried it. "No electricity." He tapped his chin pensively, then grabbed a matchbox from the mantle. He lit a match and examined the room more closely. "Yep, it's a bathroom."

"Good to know."

"Uh-huh." Gakupo crossed the room and turned the knob of the remaining door. He lit another match and waved his arm around.

"What do you see?" From where Luka was sitting, all she could see was Gakupo's silhouette surrounded by a perfectly black rectangle.

"Books and… Have you seen any Hammer Films?"

"What? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nevermind. It's some sort of home laboratory, I guess. Test tubes and glass bottles, that sort of thing. Lots of papers on a desk…. Damn it's cold!" Gakupo closed the door and returned to the vicinity of the fireplace.

"I hate to say this, but we need to change out of this clothes," Luka pointed out.

"Yeah." Gakupo looked around, thinking. "Can you check that chest, see if there's something we can use? I bet there's some towels in the bathroom, I'll get a couple."

"Ok." Was it a good idea to riffle through these people's personal belongings? In all likelihood, probably not. But at least the place looked mundane enough to hope it belonged to regular people. Luka knelt in front of the chest and examined its contents. There were some bedsheets and blankets and assorted wintery clothes, including two long wooly capes Luka put aside. Finally, lying at the very bottom, the girl saw an ivory garment wrapped in tissue paper. She pulled it out gently to take a better look, with an odd sense of anticipation. As she expected, it was a cream-colored wedding dress. She caressed its delicate fabric with two fingers. This dress had never seen the inside of a factory, that much was clear. Someone had spent hours upon hours on the elaborate embroidery of the bodice and hem. "It's so beautiful."

"Not what I had in mind given the weather outside," Gakupo commented from behind her. He was carrying a pile of towels in his arms. "Are you going to try it on?"

Luka shook her head, suddenly feeling nervous. "I, it must be very important. I can't just..." She took a few steps, looking away from him, and her gaze landed on one of the shelves. It was decorated with a jar of dried flowers and three metal photo frames arranged in a semicircle. "Hold on." She stepped closer, feeling something close to nausea.

"What is it?" Gakupo approached her, then looked at the photographs. The towels fell from his hands.

The photo on the left was of a group of smiling children in antiquated clothes sitting on the steps of a building. Luka easily recognized Gakupo and Gumi, surrounding by six other girls and a little boy with green hair. The photo on the right depicted an elderly couple that seemed vaguely familiar, though she couldn't quite place them. And the photo in the center…

To any other observer, it would've been a nice, but unremarkable scene. A young couple on their wedding day, standing near the front door of their new home. The man in the grey suit had his arm around his wife's waist and was smiling at her with so much genuine affection and joy that Luka felt some of that emotion reflected towards her, as if the frame wasn't enough to contain it.

Then again, it made some sense for her to feel like a participant of their love. The bride was wearing her face, after all.


	7. World in Mist

Chapter 7 - World in Mist

* * *

A photo of a woman in her twenties wearing a cream-colored wedding gown. That's all it was. Nevertheless, Luka couldn't deny the suffocating panic rising within her. There was no reason to doubt the authenticity of the picture, and so, there was no escape from the maddening theories that were beginning to form inside her brain.

Gakupo took a step forward, with an incongruously blissful expression in his face. He grabbed the picture frame on the right and studied the image of the elderly couple. He smiled, eyes glistening. "Look at them, so old..." He laughed and a tear rolled down his left cheek.

Luka eyed him with confusion, her brain still mostly occupied with the picture of the newlyweds. Gakupo laughed again, then sniffled. "It's my parents, Luka! My parents!" He rubbed his eyes. "Well, I guess they are _his_ parents, really." He paused for a moment, as if considering something, and asked in a hopeful tone, "Do you think they live nearby? If this is his house, then maybe we can find-"

"I hope not." Luka cut him off. "And if this _is_ his home, we need to dry off and find a hiding spot before he gets back."

Gakupo's face fell.

"I'm sorry." Luka placed the wedding dress on the bed, then grabbed one of Gakupo's hands. It was clammy like hers. "But you said it yourself. Whatever they are, they are not your parents. We have to be careful."

After a moment, Gakupo nodded. "You're right." He looked past Luka at the two other photographs, then his gaze returned to the girl. "Does your head hurt?"

"Huh?"

"That's how it goes whenever he's close, so if she's around-"

"Ah, no." Luka turned to glance at the woman in the wedding dress and quickly looked away. "No, I feel fine." Aside from the uncomfortable sensation of the wet clothes against her skin, that is. She grabbed one of the towels from the floor and wrapped it around Gakupo's shoulders. "I'll feel even better once we stop courting hypothermia and get changed."

A bit of humour returned to Gakupo's expression. "Sounds good to me."

Luka grabbed a couple things from the chest and another towel from the floor. "I'll use the bathroom, ok?" There was the small problem of the lack of electricity, but now that Luka wasn't looking at perplexing photographs she noticed several unlit several candles resting on the shelves as part as the decor of the bedroom. She grabbed one and Gakupo wordlessly lit it with a match.

If the bathroom had been properly illuminated, Luka would've found it barely worth commenting upon. Antiquated yet mundane like everything else in the home; merely a windowless room with a toilet, a sink, a clawfoot tub and a corner shelf in the same muted palette as the walls. Luka quickly decided against looking at the mirror over the sink: the way her reflection seemed to be drowning in petroleum, with anything barely visible around her, was unnerving in a way she couldn't easily articulate. She turned around and undressed as quickly as humanly possible. In the process, she realized her phone was still in her pocket, as drenched as everything else. The screen was completely blank and unresponsive. She placed it aside with a groan and dried herself. Next, it was time to try on the clothes from the chest. Her chosen dress was loose and shapeless, but nicely thick and soft. Together with the long cape, she felt perfectly insulated from the offending cold, at least from the neck down. That was enough to lift her spirits, despite the weirdness of the situation they were in.

Gakupo's voice came from the other side of the door. "Are you done?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Are you?"

"Yep."

Luka exited the bathroom and found Gakupo rubbing his head with the towel. He was wearing the other cape and a work suit, light grey like her wool dress. "I feel Dickensian wearing this stuff." He then gave the pile of discarded clothing at his feet a little kick. "I guess we need to hang these somewhere."

"Even if we hang them by the fire, it's going to take a while," Luka said eyeing the misshapen bundle comprised by her own clothes. Perhaps it was better to pack the wet uniforms and just leave right away. On the other hand, their surroundings were a complete enigma. They had no guarantee that there was a safer location nearby, or even that they were alone in the house. What if the man was in one of the front rooms, doing who know what? Or that woman in the wedding dress. In fact, the mere idea of seeing her own face with the same unhinged look the man sported gave her nausea. That unappealing train of thought inspired Luka to cross the room and slowly open the door that lead to the inner courtyard. She had to know if the house was truly vacant.

Night. The grey world outside had been completely replaced by an almost perfect darkness. The light of the fire could only illuminate the tiled floor and insinuate the watery surface beyond it. There was no light pollution, no hint of other dwellings nearby. For a moment, Luka felt like she was underwater once more, helplessly sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss.

She closed and locked the door. Only when she found herself staring at its wood grain did she realize that the night was incredibly silent as well. There was no wind, no tires screeching in the distance, no hint of animal life whatsoever.

"I think we should spend the night here," Luka said still staring at the varnished surface of the panel before her. Fortunately, her voice didn't shake too much. "We can barricade the exits if we need to." The last thing she wanted to do was to go outside into that cold, soundless void.

"Are you alright?"

Luka turned and gave Gakupo the tiniest of smiles. "As much as I can be. How about you?" She went to sit by his side in front of the fireplace.

"I don't know." Gakupo's eyes briefly focused on the picture frames on the opposite side of the bedroom. "I have so many questions."

Luka didn't reply right away. Finally, she softly asked, "Do they seem familiar in any way, those kids?"

Gakupo shook his head. "Never seen them before. I have a theory, though." He smiled self-consciously. "You'll say I'm crazy again."

"Actually, I'm feeling pretty open-minded at the moment." Luka hugged her knees. "Go on."

Gakupo scratched his cheek. "I think that fountain, or maybe the clinic as a whole, is a portal of sorts to a different place. It has more or less the same people, and things look very similar to our own reality. But in here, you and I, we're adults, and my parents never…They never crashed."

Luka recalled the sensation in her skin and mouth, how the rancid water had suddenly turned icy and pure. How the light overhead had vanished, like someone turning off the only light in a room without windows. Despite the proximity of the fire and the long cape around her, she felt a chill. Now, a new question began bouncing inside her head. "How do we go back?" Her words rushed out of her lips, cutting off whatever Gakupo was about to say next. "Do you think we should jump into the pool?" She almost got up and ran to the courtyard, but the uncanny darkness outside stopped her.

"I doubt it is that simple," Gakupo replied. "But we need to find Gumi and Miku first."

Luka could only stare. In her fear, she had completely forgotten about the girls they were attempting to save. She looked away in embarrassment after a few seconds.

Without saying anything, Gakupo rested a hand on her shoulder. Luka didn't acknowledge it at first; then, when he tried to drop it to his side, she pulled his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders. He let out something between a grunt and a chuckle and drew her closer. She rested her head on him and closed her eyes. It felt very comfortable.

All of the sudden, a loud sound brought her back to reality. Luka shifted her position, as she disconcertedly found herself within the circle of Gakupo's arms.

"It's just a log cracking," Gakupo said soothingly. "Go back to sleep."

Luka rubbed one eye, looking around. Had she actually dozed off? It was hard to tell how much time had passed. But her hair was now completely dry, and she had somehow ended up sitting between Gakupo's legs. His cape was wrapped around the both of them like a protective cocoon.

"You should get some sleep too. I can keep watch for the rest of the night," Luka offered.

"I'm good."

"Are you sure? It won't do us any good if you feel exhausted come morning."

"If my eyelids start dropping, I'll wake you up. Sounds fair?"

"Alright." Luka closed her eyes once more. If they had been back home or at school, where there was a chance someone she knew walked in on them sitting like this, she would've felt embarrassed, no question about it. But here in the world of fog, nothing was more reassuring than the sensation of Gakupo's body pressed against hers. She was acutely aware of the weight of his limbs and the softness of the tuft of purple hair brushing her temple. No one had ever felt as tangible to her. By contrast, she now had the strange certainty that there was no one else around them, perhaps for many kilometers. She could almost see the empty, dry landscape extending in all directions around the house. It felt like a prophetic vision, telling her to hold on to the one ember left…

* * *

Luka had never really slept on the floor before, not without proper bedding or a sleeping bag. As soon as she opened her eyes the next morning, she marveled at the fact she had managed to get any rest at all. She felt somewhat stiff and in need of a bath, but that was all. Of course, she was leaning against Gakupo, who in turn was awkwardly resting against the two-seat chair. If anyone was going to have neck pain, it was going to be him.

 _So much for being careful, anyone could've sneaked up on us while we were snoring_. Gakupo obviously had fell asleep without an actual attempt to rouse her. Luka considered getting angry at him, as she laid there without moving.

No. The experience of crossing into this strange place had been taxing for them both, she couldn't judge him too harshly. It was better to direct her energy towards something more productive, in any case.

 _Let's start by seeing if this place has hot water, then._ She gently pushed away his arms and sat up. Gakupo groaned and opened his eyes for a moment, then closed them with a pained expression.

"Owww…" He rubbed one of this shoulders, then began to tilt his head forwards and backwards. "Why didn't we just use the bed? Ow ow ow."

"Even better, you could've woken me up like you said you'd do and _then_ use the bed." Even if Luka didn't want to get angry at him, she couldn't help but tease him a little.

Gakupo opened his eyes wide.

Luka chuckled quietly and went into the bathroom. She tried the switch with no results. "Still nothing. Maybe the service is shut off." She certainly couldn't imagine the man in the grey suit doing something as mundane as paying his utilities… Which meant there might not even be running water at all.

"Where did you put the matches? Ah, nevermind, found them." Luka grabbed them and the candle from the mantlepiece and entered the bathroom. Her dishevelled reflection in the mirror above the sink gave her a bemused look, but once more, she elected not to linger on it. Her pale face surrounded by a barely illuminated background seemed almost like the visage of a stranger. Instead, she looked down and tried the right faucet handle. To her relief, water readily poured out. It tasted somewhat different from the tap water back home, closer to mineral water. Not bad. She turned the other handle, and there was some groaning of pipes. Water came out lazily, just as cold as before. Not completely unexpected, but it didn't make freshening up particularly fun.

"There's no hot water."

Gakupo stood in front of the framed pictures, rolling his shoulders. "Maybe we need to turn on a furnace somewhere. Who knows how if they even use gas here."

"True."

"Give me a moment and we can go explore the rest of the house."

"Go ahead."

While Gakupo used the bathroom, Luka unsuccessfully tried to turn on her phone. _It would've been interesting to know if this place has any reception. Or wi-fi. Not very likely, given the look of everything else, but still..._

"No luck?" Gakupo asked as he exited the bathroom combing his hair with his fingers.

"No." Luka set aside the useless device and approached the door to the courtyard. She opened it just enough to peek outside and saw the landscape was as deserted as before. "Let's go."

Gakupo stuffed a couple of candles in the pockets of his woolen jacket alongside the matches and followed her outside without a word.

Like the previous day, fog swirled outside the iron gates of the home like a witch's brew. Today, however, the day seemed particularly luminous, as if the cover of clouds was about to break at any second and let the sunlight through. It gave the surroundings a strangely hazy feeling, like something out of a hallucination.

"What time do you think it is?" Gakupo asked looking upwards.

"Around ten o'clock, maybe?" Luka replied. "Hard to say."

Gakupo acknowledged her response with a pensive hum. Without any proper transition, he then asked, "Left or right?"

"What?"

"Where do we start?" He pointed to the doors at both sides of the courtyard. There were two at each side, with no markings nor any indication of what was behind of them, and a couple of shuttered windows.

Luka picked the closest to them on the left at random and turned the doorknob, almost expecting it to be locked. Instead, it opened with a quiet creak, revealing a cluttered bedroom with chests and burlap sacks stacked on the bed and against the walls.

"The lab must be on the other side of that," Gakupo noted pointing to a door to their right, partly obstructed by boxes. "What is all this stuff, anyway?" He opened one of burlap sacks before them and found it was full of grain. "Huh." He tried another, and he found what appeared to be potatoes, although of a scarlet variety Luka had never seen before. Other containers seemed to be full of raw wool, untreated threads, roots, seeds, parchment, vials of unknown liquids and more.

"We're wasting time, let's keep going," Luka finally said impatiently and returned to the courtyard.

The other door on the left side of the courtyard was similarly unlocked. The first thing Luka saw as she entered was a dusty piano, next to a big window. An acoustic guitar waited on a stand nearby, next to a chair draped in a grey shawl. The stool in front of the piano was lying on its side, and sheet music was scattered all over the floor.

"Someone left in a hurry?"

"Looks like it." Luka knelt down and examined the nearest page. Here and there, symbols of unknown function peppered the page, although the musical notes seemed as recognizable as ever. Three words were scribbled on the top of the page: "For The Doorkeeper."

"That looks like my handwriting." Gakupo crouched by her side and looked at the sheets of paper strewn on the floor more closely. He hummed a few bars, testing the unfamiliar notes. It was a tender melody, well suited to his sedate, somewhat hoarse voice. Luka stared, forgetting everything around her for a few moments. All too soon, Gakupo's voice broke into mild laughter and he stood up. "Wasting time, right?"

A part of Luka felt like refuting his words, before her pragmatism asserted itself. "Right." She dropped the sheet music to the ground and resolutely walked back to the courtyard.

It was now time for the right side of the house. The door closest to the master bedroom led into a rectangular kitchen illuminated by a long glass block window on the opposite wall. Bundles of desiccated herbs hanged above a counter, a wood-burning stove and a large square oven. A small wooden table and two chairs waited in the corner, and shelves full of wicker baskets and things wrapped in cloth lined the walls. A mix of smells hit their nostrils, indicating that some of their contents weren't particularly edible by now. There were two white doors to their left and right.

"No fridge," Gakupo pointed out. "We haven't seen anything truly modern so far, have we?"

Luka shrugged. As long as the place was deserted, she didn't care. She tried the door to the right and found it lead outside, to a small space delimited by a fence almost as tall as the walls of the home. To her right, Luka could barely see the top of a hedge behind the fence, presumably the one circling the terrace. To her left, there was a big brass artifact under a thatch roof. It was connected to several pipes that rose from the ground and entered the wall of the house. Next to it, there was a couple of barrels and a stack of wood. Three clotheslines hung from between the eaves of the home and the top of the fence.

"I'm guessing that's the water heater," Luka said pointing to the big-bellied device. Gakupo nodded with a look of interest. With its elaborate gears and zigzagging tubes, it looked more like a movie prop than anything one would find in a regular home. Luka gladly turned away from it and walked back into the kitchen.

In contrast, the door on the left side of the kitchen lead to a much more familiar sight. Onions, carrots, glass jars of brown stuff that looked completely unappealing, pieces of cured meat, alcohol and more. Most of the food in the pantry looked in good condition, to their surprise. "Not that I want to stay here long enough for that to be a problem, but at least there's enough food here," Luka commented. As a matter of fact, the ingredients made her acutely aware of her own hunger.

Gakupo poked a cut of salted meat with a finger, like a small boy playing with his dinner. "You know, I've read that if you eat fairy food, you can't go back home." He smiled. "I hope it doesn't apply with these, 'cause I really need some breakfast."

"Me too," Luka confessed. She grabbed a wheel of cheese and approached the counter. It was rather disgustingly dusty, but there was a towel hanging from a hook over the kitchen sink. Luka quickly made use of it, placed down the cheese and rummaged around for a knife.

All the while, Gakupo kept examining the various containers in the pantry. "If this stuff is still fine, it hasn't been that long since whatever happened to them happened. Or he's replacing the stock as it goes bad."

Luka began cutting the cheese into wedges. "No, he's not eating here. Look how dusty everything is."

"Does he even eat?" Gakupo asked, then raised his shoulders when Luka shot him an annoyed glance.

"My guess is that his house is abandoned, and has been so for a while now." That naturally lead to the question of who was responsible for the lit fireplace, and where had they gone. Luka's mind filed such questions for later, given the lack of clues at present.

Gakupo placed the cut of salted meat next to the cheese and grabbed one of the wedges. He sniffed it cautiously, then took a small bite. He gave Luka a cheerful thumbs-up.

After the improvised meal, the pair continued their exploration. Behind the other door on that side of the house, Gakupo and Luka discovered a living room bathed in cold daylight. There were bay windows in front of them and in the wall to their left, both with partially open shutters that allowed the chilly air to freely circulate. Gakupo said something unintelligible and crossed the room to take a better look at the veiled landscape, swerving past the dusty furniture like a sleepwalker.

"What is it?" Luka went to stand next to him and eyed the scene for a second —Rows of fruit trees planted next to the house in lines that disappeared into the everpresent fog—, then returned her attention to the boy.

"I think I've seen this place before," he said in a low tone. His eyes darted back and forth as he pondered. "Those trees look so familiar."

Luka was about to ask for more details when Gakupo's eyes went wide. His expression and sudden paleness made her heart jump inside her chest.

"She's out there, Luka! She, I think she's hurt!"

"Wha-"

"We need to find her!" With that, Gakupo took her hand and started dragging her back towards the courtyard.

But Luka planted her feet firmly on the ground and forced him to stop. "What are you talking about?!"

"It was so jumbled before, but now-" Gakupo rubbed his left eye furiously. "He showed me so many things that night, and then it went away. I couldn't even touch any of it, but now, now, it all came back, just like that!" His breathing became more and more shallow as he talked, making the words harder to decipher. "It's was you, you tied to one of those trees, begging me for help, but that wasn't you! It was the woman in the photo, and, and-!"

Luka wrenched away from his grasp and grabbed his head with both hands, forcing his erratic gaze to center on her. "Hey."

Gakupo stared at her with big, confused eyes, like someone abruptly waking up from a dream.

"I won't understand what you're saying unless you slow down."

"...Sorry." His lips curled up in an uncertain smile. "I think… I was freaking up pretty badly there for a second, wasn't I?"

"A little." Luka let her hands rest on his shoulders. "Now, walk me through this: Are you saying the man in the grey suit made you see this place somehow?"

Gakupo nodded.

"And you saw his wife?"

Another nod, then Gakupo's eyes sparkled. "Maybe he was trying to get us to help her from the start!"

Luka frowned. "I'm afraid that's too much of a leap for me." Gakupo's optimistic expression faltered. "Let's go find something to protect ourselves in the kitchen, then we explore the orchard. Okay?"

That seemed to partly restore his good spirits. "Okay."

* * *

The visibility had only worsen by the time they stepped outside. The world was cotton and tulle curtains, the unfinished sketch of a vast and empty land beyond the rows of trees. Luka's imagination supplied her with a horrid, uncanny visual: Gakupo and her leaving the orchard behind, only to find there was nothing there at all, no even solid ground. Just an impossible void waiting for them to trip and fall inside its maws.

She shook her head, trying to dislodge the idea from her brain. It held on, stubborn as a leech. The only things stopping her from running back into the house to hide were the comforting weight of the butcher knife she was now carrying and the presence of Gakupo. He was walking slowly one step in front of her, tracing a long line on the ground with a branch. _Just in case we get turned around_. It hardly seemed necessary, but Luka appreciated the gesture anyway.

So far, there were no signs of the woman, which was perfectly acceptable as far as Luka was concerned. It wasn't easy to accept that Gakupo's hallucinations were more than meaningless visions conjured by a stressful situation; it was harder still to accept that they might be benign in nature, if induced by the strange man. No, all she wanted was to find the girls without running into any of the denizens of this strange place.

"Look!" Gakupo suddenly pointed to one of the trees on the row to their right. The fog swallowed his voice almost hungrily; it didn't even seem like they were in a open space. Luka immediately realized what made that particular tree stand out to him: its base was surrounded by coils of thick rope. Gakupo knelt and examined the rope, the ground around the tree, and a long scar on the bark of the tree, tracing its length with a finger.

Luka reluctantly stepped closer. "Was she here?"

"I think so. And then someone cut the ropes and took her away," Gakupo said almost in a whisper.

Luka looked around them warily, even though her instincts still assured her that they were alone. In all likelihood, if the woman had been attacked in the orchard, everything had concluded many days before their arrival.

Just then, the dancing fog parted somewhat, allowing her to see a hint of buildings in the distance: A church with a bell tower and a few houses built around what appeared to be a fountain square. There were numerous black shapes floating above the small village, a couple meters above the roofs of the homes; their numbers and jittery movements made Luka think of ants swarming food left unattended at a picnic.

"What the hell are those things?" Gakupo asked, reflecting her own thoughts. "Can't be birds." He was standing by her side, the rope now completely forgotten.

"No, not with that size."

"Maybe we should go back inside," Gakupo suggested after a pause. "If we can see them…" There was no need to finish the sentence. They quickly retraced their steps until they reached the limit of the orchard, then crouched next to the first tree of the line. The problem was now obvious: the front of the house was completely exposed. No planters, bushes or anything that might provide some cover. The trees between the house and the village were too far apart to completely hide them from view.

A minute passed by. The black shapes kept flapping in place, in a way Luka didn't think was possible for any winged creature. It almost looked like bits of blackened cork bobbing up and down in the water. Maybe it wasn't living creatures at all, she thought. Maybe it was grotesque decorations of some kind, balloons or kites, and she simply couldn't see the wires. Or something else that was tricking her perceptions.

"We should make a run for it." Gakupo's voice interrupted her thoughts. "The fog is clearing up, we'll be easier to spot later." Without waiting for an answer, he rose to his feet and made her stand up as well.

"Wait-!" Even as she spoke, she began to run by his side. The small trek around the house seemed eternal now, and the pause when Gakupo laboriously pushed the gate open was even worse. The groan of the hinges was so loud to her ears that Luka was sure the shapes would hear it despite the distance. Squeezing her body past the gap and then helping Gakupo close the gates was equally nerve-wrecking.

"In there!" Gakupo said pointing at the living room, just as Luka was about to make her way to the back of the house. They ran into the room and Gakupo crouched by the bay window on the front of the house.

Luka remained a couple steps behind, squeezing the handle of the knife nervously. "Are they coming?"

Gakupo waited a few seconds to shake his head. "No change." He leaned forward, as if trying to see more clearly. "So much for the laws of physics."

"What?"

The boy examined Luka's face, then looking down at her white fingers gripping the knife. "You've got a mundane explanation for that?"

Luka scowled. "Don't start with me right now."

Gakupo's expression softened. "I just mean, something of that size-" He turned around to look at the village and suddenly stopped talking.

Luka followed his gaze and her legs almost gave out under her. She had looked away only for a couple seconds, and yet, there was no indication of anything hovering over the village. Although she hated the idea of coming even a step closer to the mystery, she approached the window to take a better look. But no matter how hard she strained her eyes looking left and right, it was fruitless. She could've been staring at a painting; nothing moved except for the tendrils of mist slowly revealing the landscape.

Luka's body swayed; all of the sudden, she felt intolerably lightheaded. She rested her forehead on the windowsill. Solid and prosaic, which was exactly what she needed at the moment.

"It's going to be okay, Luka. They're gone."

"That's the problem." She almost felt like adding "idiot" at the end. How was it okay? "We don't know where they are now, and when they'll be back!"

Gakupo grimaced.

Luka returned her gaze to the town, biting her lip. The worst thing was, of course, that sooner or later they'd have to investigate those buildings, if they wanted to find Miku and Gumi. It was only a matter of time before Gakupo proposed it, now that they knew the house to be empty and devoid of leads.

"Luka…"

 _Here it comes._

"You should try jumping into the pool, see if it takes you back."

"What." She turned towards him, now doubly furious.

"I know I said before it might not work, but you should try anyway."

"Shut up," Luka growled. "I swear I'll punch you if you bring it up again."

Gakupo stared at her, so surprised that he seemed unable to formulate any response to her sudden outburst. Luka was the first to break eye contact, after a long, uncomfortable stretch of silence. The landscape outside was still grim and devoid of warmth, but the fog was almost completely gone. She could see now a dull-brown ridge in the distance behind the small town, with only a few specks of green to remind her that the world was capable of more vibrant hues. _What an ugly, desolate place._

"...I'm so scared I'm angry, if that makes any sense," Luka finally admitted.

Gakupo sat on the floor and sighed. He examined the wall opposite the window for a beat before asking, "Is that supposed to make me less inclined to offer you a way out?"

"I'm not going anywhere. And I'm not going to whine about it. It's not like you dragged me here kicking and screaming."

"Not literally," Gakupo said with a apologetic smile. "But, you are here because of me."

"Obviously," Luka said, blushing a bit. " _But,_ it's not like I'm just following you around blindly."

"I'd never accuse you of all people of doing that." He reached out and pushed a stray lock away from her eyes.

Luka took his hand between hers. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

He shook his head. "It's okay."

Luka eyed the empty landscape again. "So… What do we do now? We search that place?"

"I think so, but we should wait a bit first to make sure those things are gone. Although…" He trailed off. "We haven't seen what's behind the house yet, have we? Or at the other side. How about we tackle that first?" He stood up and offered Luka a hand, which she gladly accepted.

Plans and ideas are quick to surface in a mind, In the short time it took for the pair to walk to the door and step into the courtyard, Luka had already begun to formulate a mental list of everything they had seen inside the house that might be useful in an exploration of the land. It was better to start with short trips, of course, and return to the house well before sundown. But depending on the results, they might need to expand the search, which meant camping and-

Gakupo suddenly stopped, breaking Luka's train of thought. As soon as she followed his gaze, it became clear that he had a very good reason to stare.

"Yggdrasil..." Gakupo muttered breathlessly. And for once, Luka could see exactly why his fanciful mind had leaped into that association. With the fog gone, a structure like no other had revealed itself looming behind the house. Even the tallest skyscrapers Luka knew were but dollhouses in comparison to the massive building. More than a tower shaped by human hands, it felt primordial and essential to the world, an ideal that had become difuminated by time yet retained its basic shape. It was more than easy to picture it as a scorched tree holding up the blank skies, its ebony bark carved into a thousand minarets, each with a different height and style.

Luka's mind rebelled, trying to absorb every detail and at the same time rejecting the spectacle before her. Something began roaring at the back of her brain. Her vision mercifully blurred. Even her ears seemed to reject reality, muffling Gakupo's concerned voice. Was he calling her name? She wasn't sure. The ground was giving away under her, or perhaps it was merely her legs. She moved her arms spasmodically, trying to grab to something, anything that would keep her from falling into the dark pit that had suddenly opened under her. But her limbs were full of lead and the world was incredibly remote, and growing more distant by the second. Strange images sprouted inside her brain, ephemeral and unintelligible— bright fireworks celebrating her dizziness during the strangely elongated second it took for her body to drop messily into Gakupo's arms.

A moment later, everything went away, leaving nothing but darkness.


End file.
